Do All Dreams Come True? (4)

Something felt off.

Why… why did this taste so good?

The cheese melted on my tongue like it was dissolving into pure flavor. A touch of saltiness that finished clean and light. That stretchy, chewy pull when I bit down. There wasn't a single thing about it that didn't satisfy me.

I'd known my body had changed and that my food preferences had shifted with it, but I never imagined it would be this dramatic. This was the first time I'd ever realized cheese could be such a refined food.

Looking back, even the pasta I'd eaten with Luche had been a fairly rich kind. I'd just been too out of it to notice. Had my own prejudices been standing between me and happiness this whole time? How was I only discovering something this good now? It was a taste that made me genuinely reflect on myself.

"…You acted like you weren't going to eat any, but you're really going at it."

"Hup."

"Just try it for now, and if it's not enough, we'll order another one. If there's leftovers, we can stick them in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fridge and reheat them later."

"Thank you…"

A sudden wave of embarrassment left me feeling small. Even so, my mouth never stopped savoring the pizza. Every time that pure white cheese touched my tongue, a strange sense of contentment bloomed through me.

I didn't watch any more match footage during the meal. Rest when you rest, work when you work. That was a rule I'd kept since my days as a pro player.

And as it happened, there was something I wanted advice on.

"Master. There's something I've been worrying about lately."

"Hm? What is it? Go ahead. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If it's something I can help with, I'll do whatever I can."

"Well… there are some people who helped me out during this tournament."

I meant Sulbbang and Elderin. Traveler was one of them too, technically, but that had been a pure transaction. He probably needed time alone right now, and contacting him at the moment would have been difficult for any number of reasons.

So what was really on my mind was Elderin's offer. The one where she'd said we should meet up if I did well in the tournament. She'd told me it was fine to refuse, but… maybe it was because I'd spent so long alone. The desire to build new connections kept rising in me, little by little.

Thanks to the earnings I'd received back then, I could focus on the tournament now. So it was true that I'd been helped. These days, with the tournament taking up everything, work barely came in at all. It was a kind of dry season — and without Elderin, I probably would have had to dig into my emergency savings.

"When you play games, you make enemies sometimes… so helping someone like me is a pretty risky thing to do."

"So they were the ones who bravely reached out first."

"Yes. And one of them wants to meet me in real life. Honestly, I'm a little worried."

"Worried about what?"

"In the game I play, a lot of money moves around. People spend it, people make it. There are plenty of people like me who do it for a living. So until now, I've always avoided anything that could expose my personal information. When money's involved, nothing that happens should surprise you."

Of course, it might have been an overreaction. Even if Infinity Black's siege scene was as dirty as it got, thinking it would lead all the way to actual crime might have been going too far. But I was so much weaker now. I didn't even need to be facing a grown man — anyone with working arms and legs could overpower me physically. Fears I'd never had to deal with as a pro player had made the current me hypersensitive.

And yet the reason I was uncurling from that long crouch was because loneliness hurt too much. Because the warmth I'd once brushed against had torn through my brain like a drug. I needed people.

"Sounds like you're not sure. They're strangers, so it could be dangerous."

"…Yes."

"I understand. Don't beat yourself up over it. You found the courage too. You did well enough."

Master patted my shoulder. His hand felt so much larger and more solid than before. At least I wasn't being completely strange about this. With him saying that much, I figured I should try to be a little braver myself. Once I logged into the game later, I'd suggest setting something up after the tournament.

What could really go wrong, anyway?

"From the sound of it, you haven't set a date yet. When you do meet, where do you think it'll be?"

"Probably Seoul. That's where they suggested."

"Is that so? Then it's conveniently close. Once you've got a time and place, send them to me."

"That's easy enough, but… why?"

Was he planning to tag along? That would be a little awkward for him. He wouldn't have anything to talk about once he got there… and it'd look like a student was putting her master to work. Wait — was I already putting him to work with the tournament stuff? I didn't know. My head was getting a little fuzzy.

"As long as it's not some ridiculous hour, I'll just grab a few of the kids I teach and have a little dinner nearby. That way we won't get in the way of you young people hanging out, and you'll be able to feel safer too."

"I-Is that really okay?"

"Why wouldn't it be? I was thinking of treating everyone to some meat soon anyway. All I'm doing is matching the place ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and time — it's no trouble at all."

The way he said it like it was nothing made tears prick at my eyes. I hadn't meant to cry. By the time I collected myself, the corners of my eyes were damp. This was definitely because my body had gotten weaker. So it wasn't my fault.

Not wanting him to see me cry, I pulled out a tissue and pressed it hard against my eyelids. Thankfully, Master turned his head away.

Even after going home, Master kept sending me his notes. Bolstered by that precious support, I did the absolute best I could with what I had. Crow still felt like a matchup where the data was thin, but that went both ways — the other side was short on info about me too. From here on out, it was territory I'd have to pioneer myself.

But if they thought everything I'd shown so far was all I had, I'd leave them in the same shape as Muse. That guy's ass was currently being put through every meme edit imaginable overseas. Well, he seemed to be taking it in stride. I had to admit, that kind of mental fortitude was impressive.

Anyway — the semifinals, which had felt like they might never arrive, finally came looking for me. Tournament time was always so fickle. When you waited for it desperately, it wouldn't take a single step. The moment you thought it was still far off, it strode right up and shoved you from behind.

And where it shoved me, a new battlefield waited.

Bamboo Grove was exactly what it sounded like — a battlefield modeled on the bamboo forests of East Asia. There were no special gimmicks, but the bamboo here was quite sturdy even by player standards. Longswords could get their blade paths interrupted mid-swing if the angle was off, though that didn't apply to Crow as a mage or to me with my daggers.

Visibility was good, but obstacles were everywhere. Rather than sticking to open paths, I slipped between the bamboo stalks, hunting for my opponent's position. For this match, I'd invested a significant number of points into scouting ability. With so little prior intel, I needed more grounds for judgment once I was actually on the field.

Mana drifted between the bamboo like a dim navy mist.

Mana detection is focused upward. Better to stay low on the approach. Makes sense — I've used a lot of aerial ambushes in this Arena.

I slipped past the thickly laid mana without a sound. Along the way, a few unsettling undead came into view. Zombies reeking of rot. Skeletons with white bone weathered away in patches. Nothing immediately threatening as summons went, but the kind of pests that would hound me until the match was over. I noted their positions and moved on.

In this game, the Corpse Mage was a class specialized in commanding undead with physical form. The kind of job that came to mind when you thought of a necromancer. The main difference was that they'd completely abandoned ghost-type undead like banshees and spirits.

When I reached the center where the mana was pouring out, I saw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a grotesque sphere of clumped-together bone. Crow was definitely inside that thing. Dragging this out wouldn't do me any favors, so I immediately poured everything into a dagger slash aimed at the sphere.

Following the path of my blade, one side of the sphere was cleanly cut open. I hadn't sliced all the way through, but I caught a glimpse of blood flowing from within.

Just because the first attack landed didn't mean I could get greedy. The floor of Bamboo Grove was soft, easy-to-dig earth, and Crow's favorite strategy in previous matches had been planting traps out of sight in advance.

Sure enough, a massive bone erupted from the ground. Once it fully emerged, what I was looking at was a hand-bone that looked like it had been torn off a giant. If I'd gotten greedy, I would have been caught in that grip — or skewered on its sharp tips.

As the shattered sphere came apart, Crow's figure was revealed. For a pro gamer, an in-game avatar was a form of self-PR. A distinctive look made it easy to build an image, and that image stuck in fans' minds. Muse's dancer avatar drawing popularity with its revealing outfit worked on the same principle. That one might just have been personal taste, but still.

Crow's concept was fairly clear-cut too. Pitch-black robes and a mask shaped like a crow's beak, true to the nickname. A man who looked for all the world like a medieval plague doctor slammed his staff into the ground with a sharp thud.

Something began racing toward me from underground at high speed.