Please Nerf Mages

"Seems like it's a bit tough."

Not that I didn't understand. When I first learned Spear's Roar myself, I'd thought exactly the same thing — 'This... is a spear? Then what on earth was I wielding all those years?'

Still, in DeoEn you could replicate something similar to Spear's Roar using a skill, so I figured there was at least some possibility. No matter how much you leaned on skills, this was still virtual reality — the body still moved. Keep training your body through a skill, over and over, and eventually you might unravel the principle behind it.

"As if launching the spear. But you must never actually launch it."

I took up the spear and performed the technique once more. Smashing another tree was out of the question, so I lightly — a mere one percent of force — thrust toward the empty air.

The spear cleaved through the wind.

Hmm. Yena, was it?

Yena was a fairly formidable player in her own right — surely she could manage it? Five percent might be a stretch, but she could probably pull off an imitation.

I turned toward where Yena was standing. She was staring back at me with anxious eyes — eyes that pleaded, please, don't make me do this.

But I remembered the humiliation of that day. The day she told me I had to bellow "STATUS WINDOW!" at the top of my lungs to open my traits. Even now, whenever I recalled it...

"You know what? I think you'd be really good at this, Yena. You've got great skills."

"Yes... yes?"

"Go on. Give it a try."

I held out the green spear. Yena's pupils wavered harder than ever.

Before I knew it, Yena had shuffled forward as if being pushed. With a grumbled "Augh, fine," she took a proper grip on the spear and shouted at the camera.

"What's so hard about it anyway? I'll do it right now!"

Setting a single tree before her, Yena took her stance with determination. Holding the spear, she murmured "holding it, yet not holding it..." as she slowly rotated the shaft.

"Oh."

Her form actually looked decent?

A cool breeze swept across the wide clearing, where only a few trees stood. Between Yena and her target hung a subtle battle of nerves. The target: that tree. And the one eyeing it: Yena.

Her expression turned serious. The moment her crimson eyes flashed, the spear was loosed.

Thud.

The blade sank into the tree.

"......What am I supposed to do with this."

Wearing a somewhat sheepish look, Yena retrieved the spear and handed it back to me. Mumbling "This is hard..." she slunk offscreen once more.

'Hmm.'

I looked at the tree. In the crevice where the spear blade had struck — a strangely clean split, so fine you'd have to squint your eyes wide just to see it.

'See? I'm an excellent judge of people after all.'

It was tiny, but Yena had done it.

It took five hours to read through every single donation. If I'd still been accepting donations since the donation-chargeback incident, five hours would have been nothing — ten would have passed easily — but unfortunately, donations couldn't be sent after the stream officially ended.

As the long journey finally drew to a close, Yena let out a cheer of "Woo!" She'd worked hard too.

"Thank you to everyone who donated. And Yena, thank you for helping out today as well."

"Oh no, I was the one being helped. This much is nothing."

Yena waved her hand with a giggle.

"Well then, wrap things up. I've got some things to do, so I'm heading off first."

"Ah, yes, get some rest, Yena."

"Yep~!"

Yena called out a cheery goodbye, and just before vanishing completely beyond the screen, her face popped back in.

"Oh, about that — I've had a lot going on lately, so it'll be the day after tomorrow. It's past midnight already, so... tomorrow? Whatever. Anyway."

And Yena disconnected for good.

With her gone, I was left alone in the wide clearing.

One in the morning, and the viewer count still held steady at over thirty thousand.

Should I end it here? But since today had been nothing but donation reading, cutting it off like this felt a little unsatisfying.

"Everyone."

"The stream's not ending just yet. I'm going to do something a little different before we close."

Using the return scroll Yena had given me, I made my way back to the village. Even at one in the morning, the streets were packed shoulder to shoulder. If anything, maybe one in the morning was precisely when the crowds swelled.

Virtual reality demanded no physical fatigue, so it was only natural that most people logged on at night, after work or chores were done. Of course, overdoing it wasn't healthy either.

Pushing through the endless stares, I arrived at my destination: the PVP Arena, where a colossal statue loomed into view. I let my gaze linger on that familiar statue a moment, then stepped inside. Fresh white landscaping and walls, architecture reminiscent of a colosseum — all of it welcomed me.

Last time I'd followed Yena into a custom mode room, but now I needed to find an opponent at the desk area toward the back. Looking around, plenty of people were gearing up for matches.

As I approached the desk, a cute doll-like creature — white and round like a marshmallow, wearing blue glasses — looked up at me.

"Hello! I'm Moco, the battle fairy. Shall we get your match started?"

"Yes, please."

"Great. Normal match or ranked match — which will it be?"

Moco pushed up her blue glasses with tiny hands and presented the two options. I turned to the camera.

"What should I pick?"

The chat was split down the middle. I deliberated briefly, then decided on ranked. In a normal match, I'd probably push myself too hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trying to win by any means, just like before. Better to fight someone closer to my own level.

And above all, since my opponent wouldn't be any weaker than me, I wouldn't have to slog through a boring fight either.

"Ranked match? Okey. Just wait a moment while we find you an opponent."

Moco blinked her blue glasses, and a mere five seconds later, her little hand offered me a blue coin.

"Match found. Take the coin."

The moment I accepted it, my vision flipped, and through a thin, translucent barrier a silhouette appeared before me.

...A staff?

"Holy— you've got to be kidding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me."

The man's eyes went round as saucers — red hair, a crimson staff, mage's robes. His face plainly read unbelievable.

Did he recognize me?

"Y-you're Lily, right?"

Yeah. That he did.

"That's me."