The Group Draw Ceremony (2)

How long had it been since I started this game?

I had spent most of my time in it alone.

Nearly every conversation I ever had was strictly about "business." Beyond that, the best I got was a little trash talk with whoever I was about to kill. Even then, most of them just dumped a stream of curses and moved on — nothing particularly entertaining.

But things were different now.

Humans are animals that evolve. Somewhere along the way, my relationships had evolved too. I had finally reached the point where I could put together an entire party just from the people on my friends list!

BoozeBun and I were the ones with the peculiar tastes… no, wait.

We had gathered again at Elderin's suggestion. Getting everyone together was the easy part — the problem was that there wasn't much to do in-game beyond chatting and hunting. Naturally, the consensus settled on party hunting.

I filled the empty slots by calling MountainBird, who in turn called Gokturk. That brought back the two ordinary players who had teamed up with us during the SSA Guild incident.

"By the way, BoozeBun, is there a story behind your nickname? I asked you about it on stream once, but I never got an answer."

"Ah, that. My parents used to buy sulbbang for me all the time when I was a kid. Back then I couldn't figure out what the appeal was supposed to be, but… well."

"Hahaha! Right? It's such an old-fashioned snack. You barely even see it sold these days. Sounds like you must have some meaningful memories with your parents over sulbbang. I know I did."

"No… I was going to keep talking and then joke that there was no such story at all…. Honestly, an old game I used to play just had a food item called sulbbang, so…. Sorry."

"Ah…."

Gokturk the Berserker was a fan of BoozeBun's. MountainBird seemed to watch Elderin's streams fairly often too, so the party atmosphere was good from the start.

MountainBird and Elderin, in particular, were a great combination. Both of them had that social-butterfly energy, and once they got going the chatter never stopped. I couldn't keep up with that kind of pace, so I just listened. There was a strange pleasure in simply watching other people talk and have fun. The fact that those two didn't shut me out was enough to make me feel like I belonged.

That was how a loner stockpiled warmth….

"So what did you used to do for work, Gawol?"

"Oh, I'm curious too! Last time on Traveler's stream, someone said you looked like you'd be good ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at sports."

"You watch a lot of streams, MountainBird…."

"Well, I work alone, so even when I'm not playing I end up watching streams a lot. I caught all of your tournament coverage this time, you know? You were amazing."

"Ahem."

Being praised like that did put me in a good mood. I didn't particularly want to dig into my past, but there was no reason to start shaking just from bringing it up. It was something I would have to face eventually. I simply hadn't managed it yet.

I chose my words carefully.

"Yeah. I used to do sports. Not anymore, though."

"I see. Then are you actually really flexible? People said something about you being… soft, too…."

"That… hmm. I wouldn't know. I've never had much reason to compare my body to anyone else's. But I don't think I'm stiff."

Well, compared to my original body, this one was considerably softer. I had been swinging a bamboo sword since I was a kid, after all. Still — a girl's body. Softer than a man with abs carved into his stomach, no question.

That said, the conversation seemed to be drifting into real-life territory. That made me a little uncomfortable. To keep it from showing, I pushed a bit farther ahead. Herding the mobs was my job this time anyway. No one would find it strange.

Fortunately, the real-life talk didn't last long. MountainBird mostly worked as a video editor; Elderin had majored in design. BoozeBun, whom I had assumed was older, was actually only in his mid-twenties. Gokturk looked exactly like the late-thirties ajusshi he was, so that one wasn't surprising.

"Gawol, is there anyone you want to draw against at the group ceremony?"

"Hmm… not really. The ones I actually want to face, I'd rather meet further up the bracket."

"So you don't even entertain the idea of losing in the main round?"

"Of course not. I didn't enter this thing planning to lose."

"Ha. I like the confidence."

Still, there were a few people I genuinely wanted to fight. I had wanted a match with Luce since before the Arena even started, and I wanted to cross weapons at least once with that supposedly incredible Kelberos. Kelberos especially — he played on a different server, so running into him in the field was nearly impossible.

AT Kelberos. Considered a key player in the current European league, and one of the strongest contenders for the Arena title. He was also the one who had beaten Luce in last year's international match.

If Luce beat Kelberos, and then I beat Luce…

Was there anything more satisfying than that?

"Hey, could someone clean up that trash mob for me~?"

"On it!"

The longer the party hunt went on, the more we talked. I was enjoying myself. It genuinely felt like I had made real friends. I didn't know how the others saw it, but that was how it felt to me. After that person died, there hadn't been anyone I could call a friend.

With the people I had known as a competitor, there had always been a subtle sense of distance. And once my body ended up like this, I was the one who cut off contact. Looking at other athletes… the change in me would have been too painful to watch. That was true of Master as well, but seeing his face regularly had made it familiar. I could never bring myself to show him that ugly inferiority complex of mine.

"Gawol, where do you live, roughly?"

"I'm… around Incheon."

"Oh, that's close to Seoul!"

Elderin's question. I pushed through a brief hesitation and answered. Telling them this much should be fine.

"Then if you do well in the Arena this time, would you come up to Seoul sometime?"

"In real life…?"

"Yeah. My treat!"

"That's, well… um. Could I think about it a little more?"

"Of course. No pressure at all — if you feel like it, we'll meet up!"

I didn't give a definite answer.

The appointed time arrived. A few days of focused party hunting had flown by, and before I knew it the main-round date was upon us.

In principle, attending the group draw ceremony was optional. But skipping meant forfeiting every right to choose, so there was no real reason to take that risk. Besides, this was my first time at something like this, and I was oddly looking forward to it.

My vision went dark for a moment, and when it returned I was standing on a clean, polished stage. A few people had arrived ahead of me and were already gathered in conversation. Unfortunately, there was still no sign of Luce.

I must have been standing around looking lost, because a familiar character came over to find me.

"Welcome! First time, right?"

"Ah, yes."

"Just take a seat and wait. We sent out a notice covering the basic order and rules — if you missed it, you can check again. For now…"

Caster Hoeun. A well-known face who never missed a domestic match. Hearing a voice I had only ever known from broadcasts right in front of me felt strangely unfamiliar. I listened quietly while Hoeun walked me through the explanation.

"…And that's how the group draw order works. In your case, Gawol, you're the eleventh seed."

"Thank you. That was really helpful."

"There'll be a highlight reel before the draw starts, too. As for you, Gawol… you can look forward to it. You're popular overseas, you know?"

"Pardon?"

"Ah, so you didn't know. Well, enjoy it this time, then."

An oddly loaded remark. I was popular overseas? Had they mixed me up with someone else?

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠turned it over in my head, but nothing came of it. I hadn't done anything that would make me famous abroad. Still, just in case, I tried searching things like Gawol and Kawol — nothing much turned up. At best, a post from a few months ago about someone getting trolled in ranked. That kind of thing happened all the time; it was hardly worth noticing now.

"Looks like all the participants are here. We're going to start the rehearsal shortly — does anyone need more time?"

Once everyone had assembled, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there was a brief rehearsal. The idea was to walk us ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through the rough sequence in advance. The highlight reel and player interviews mentioned earlier were only noted in the order of events and then skipped over. I spent that stretch of time in a daze.

I had done tournament rehearsals plenty of times before. Why did this one feel so foreign? Maybe because it was a game this time, not the real thing.

"We're going live shortly!"

After the producer's call, until the cameras started rolling, I sat in my seat and watched the other competitors with idle curiosity. A few people looked like they wanted to talk to me. For some reason, none of them actually did.

"Next up…… Acid Gaming's Ripper!"

The main-round contenders were introduced one by one, each accompanied by a highlight reel. Names you would have heard at least once, no matter which country you were from. Players from North America, Europe, Japan, China, the Middle East — competitors from every corner of the world appeared on screen.

And somewhere among those names was mine.

"And next…… a player who's been making quite a name for herself lately. In the English-speaking world, she's famous for a video known as Korean Tea-bagging Girl."

"……?"

"Main class: Assassin! Sub class: Dual Blades! Please enjoy Gawol's highlight reel!"

The moment the host called it out, a video unfurled before everyone's eyes.

It opened with the clip of me dunking an archer in and out of the ocean.