Ilsan Baron
Fortunately, Kkaenam-i's questions didn't last long.
Since we were flying, we reached our destination—V-City—in no time at all.
A glance at the map showed Na-ro-si hard at work in the underground mega-farm, while everyone else was nowhere to be seen. They were probably deep in a building trance up on the sky island.
"Follow me."
"Whew! This place is really well put together too. Kinda has that modern feel, you know? Oh, look—there's even a traffic light over there."
If you had to name the company in Rena World furthest from architecture, Akatsuki would take the top spot without contest. Outside of Muyo, none of them were particularly comfortable with building.
That's why after they got architecture funding, they suffered like hell putting together their underground city. Too few people, and they set the scale way too big right from the start.
In pure scale our sky island wasn't exactly small either, but our staff's building skills were in a different league. From Na-ro-si to Miho, Lucy, Subnitti, and Han A-yeon—any one of them could pull more than their weight at any company. Compared to Akatsuki with its similar headcount, the building speed simply wasn't on the same dimension.
"Ohh! What's this? The underground is completely insane."
"No way, how is the basement this huge? It's a full soccer field."
The two of them marveled at the underground mega-farm. Before long their eyes locked onto the mini tractor Na-ro-si was driving—zipping around, efficiently harvesting crops. Their exclamations chased right after her.
"Rosi, come here a second."
"Ah! Yes, Master."
She must have been completely absorbed in the work; she noticed us a little late. Na-ro-si approached with a slight awkward shuffle at the sudden appearance of outsiders. I introduced the two of them in turn so they could exchange greetings, then cut straight to the point.
"So, Rosi—who do you think is better looking between these two?"
"Huh?"
"Whoa, just like that?"
Na-ro-si wasn't the only one flustered; Oh Yeong-jun looked rattled too. I pushed harder.
"If we start chatting for too long, prejudices form. Weren't you two trying to be judged purely on looks? Don't tell me you're chicken? Planning to sweet-talk your way through a conversation?"
"Hey now! Seo-a. I'm Oh Yeong-jun. How are you talking about me? I'm ready anytime."
"Na-ro-si, just ignore that old man's nonsense and pick right away."
"……"
Na-ro-si still looked awkward, but when I met her eyes and gave a small nod that it was fine, she found her confidence and moved her mouse.
"Then I'll hop into both of your streams for a moment. Please make sure your cam screens show you clearly."
"Ah, my cam's not looking great today. Can't help it. I'll give you this as a handicap."
"Ha! It's not the cam—your face itself has been a handicap since the day you were born. Speak properly."
Watching them refuse to stop sniping even in a situation like this, you could really feel the true-friend vibes. While Na-ro-si checked their faces, I entered both streams myself. My turn to judge would probably come around soon enough. I already knew their faces from before the regression, but neither was a professional male cam streamer, and the gap was only wide enough that the day's condition could tip the win or loss.
"Hmm……"
First up was Oh Yeong-jun. Glasses, slightly messy hair, checkered pajama top. Classic church-oppa style. Just a decent, ordinary-looking face.
Kkaenam-i was different. Hair cropped short like a soldier's. Apparently he'd taken a penalty haircut at a PUBG CK, and even the reason behind it was unusual. Slightly droopy sleepy eyes and a slim jawline. He didn't look exactly alike, but he vaguely reminded me of the comedian Han Min-gwan.
"I've decided."
"Hoooh…… Please, God!"
"Ahaha! Looking ugly and nervous just makes you look even uglier."
True to her straightforward nature, Na-ro-si didn't drag it out and immediately named the winner. That winner was Kkaenam-i.
"That's right! How about that, you ugly bastard. This is reality. Huh? Climb out of your fantasy world."
"…… What's the reason?"
"Well. I like looks with personality. Those slightly sleepy eyes, and that buzzed head looks like it'd feel nice to pet."
Kkaenam-i cheered at Na-ro-si's evaluation while Oh Yeong-jun hung his head low. A moment later it was time to move on and find the next judge. Oh Yeong-jun spoke, sulking hard.
"Na-ro-si, let's definitely meet during this Purge Day. Definitely!"
Leaving behind a chat window flooded with "pathetic incel Oh Yeong-jun," we started moving—when someone came racing toward us at high speed on the map. Checking, it was Mayo.
"I was working hard, but Unnie Seo-a was playing around here, geosida. The workers of the world must unite and defeat the evil employer, geosida."
"…… You're spouting weird stuff again. More importantly, perfect timing that you showed up."
I introduced Mayo to the two of them and explained the current situation. After ducking into their streams to check their faces, Mayo asked:
"I want to know both of your LoL tiers, geosida."
"LoL tiers? Suddenly?"
The two tilted their heads at the out-of-nowhere question. It wasn't exactly a secret, so they answered readily.
"I'm Challenger, but I barely play lately so maybe Master level?"
"I got up to Platinum. Form's probably dead so Gold around now?"
"Decided, geosida. Oh Yeong-jun is better looking, geosida."
"Yes! Mayo, you're the type who looks a lot at guys' looks. Definitely high standards."
"Why?!"
Leaving the wailing Kkaenam-i behind, Mayo muttered that she was busy and hurried off. Oh Yeong-jun was over the moon; Kkaenam-i pitifully stretched out a hand, begging for at least the reason. Having figured out Mayo's selection criteria, I quietly sighed.
Ugh! Crazy LoL-obsessed girl.
"Anyway, that makes it 1:1. Neck and neck—a battle of dragons and tigers! Shall we keep going?"
"Yeah. Let's go all the way!"
"Ha! If I really lose, I'm changing my nickname. From Kkaenam-i to Onam-i."
The pride battle between the two heated up more and more. Word had already spread through the community; viewer numbers were climbing.
While managing the chats that had gone a little too far, we stood at the entrance to the high-speed water elevator on the outskirts of V-City.
"Once inside, don't press any direction keys—just ride all the way up. Only move when you get off at the end. I'll go first."
I led the way, and we boarded the water elevator one after another.
"Whoa! What's this? This existed?"
"Dude, this is sick. Let's install one in our underground meeting hall too."
Listening to their exclamations, we passed through two intermediate rest stops for air replenishment and arrived at the sky island. The two seemed startled by Skypia, whose entry process alone was already unusual. It made sense—it hadn't been opened to other company members yet.
"Welcome, both of you, to Skypia, the sky island. You're the first official guests. Though it's not finished yet."
The automatic opening device at the water elevator entrance activated, and what greeted us was a massive monument standing right in front. It towered grandly, overwhelming anyone who looked at it. Inside, using image photos, the nicknames of viewers who had contributed to the sky island architecture funding were enshrined.
"Whoa. This is awesome."
"Nice idea. These are the nicknames of people who joined the architecture funding, right?"
"Yes. We specially recorded those who funded 1,000 or more."
"Viewers must have loved it."
Oh Yeong-jun smiled with satisfaction, saying he'd picked up a good tip.
Yeah~ I just stole it first from what Akatsuki did before the regression.
"Shall we go?"
"Whoa. The floor is all white. Representing clouds?"
"Insane! What's that? It looks just like a Greek temple."
"You've never even seen a Greek temple, so stop making a fuss with that ugly face!"
For Akatsuki, short on building skill, even this much was enough to leave them stunned. Checking the map, the first person we sought out was Subnitti, who was working closest by.
"……"
Cheering Subnitti on inwardly, I immediately launched into introductions and an explanation of the situation with the two of them.
"Hey hey, Subni. You know me. It's Oppa."
"What. You two know each other? Huh? Then it's not fair."
Oh Yeong-jun and Subnitti had run into each other a few times in the early days of Rena World and, befitting their ages, had done some 19+ roleplay stories. Before long Subnitti made a firm decision.
"I pick Kkaenam-i."
"Nice. You ugly bastard. 2:1."
"No, why on earth!"
"Yeong-jun Oppa, back then while doing the story, you left me alone on the bed and ran away. I don't like weak men in bed."
"What? Ha! My nickname is the Ilsan Baron. Huh? You know Baron, right—Baron!"
"Bzzzzzt! That's enough. Let's keep our rating."
I urgently intervened and dragged the excited Oh Yeong-jun away. No—was this guy trying to get someone's stream banned?
The content was burning hot.