Group F

FM Community was blazing hot again today.

I finally understood why the old-timer gallery regulars would occasionally slip into boomer mode and pine for the past, muttering, "Those were the best days for community posting."

By the time I'd followed Lucy over to Pangea TV, the long StarCraft golden age had already ended not long before. That meant the Pangea TV board on FM Community was a circus of fans from the returning corporate streamers. For a while, the virtual fans who'd claimed the empty house as their own and the corporate streamer fans had been stuck in an uneasy cohabitation. Things would eventually fuse together to some degree through Rena World, but the early days had been pure chaos. Whenever a popular post about virtual streamers went up, people would put on masks, swarm in, leave a flood of snide dunking comments, and vanish. It had been a period of fierce conflict — hatred of virtual streamers on one side, demands to accept the changing times on the other.

Compared to that, the present was pure heaven. Other boards had started calling the Pangea TV board the "virtual board," after all.

That aside, Rena Universe is something else.

I'd thought things had quieted down a little once the Wooga-dol Audition started, but maybe that had just been a crouch before the leap. As more and more Rena Universe members transferred over, the whole thing was becoming a bigger and bigger issue. Even a virtual crew alone was effective enough — and this was Pangea TV's first-ever corporate faction. The sheer scale of the numbers was overwhelming. Just the streams from Rena Universe-affiliated streamers could cover all twenty-four hours — morning, afternoon, and late night.

At first, the virtual fans' attention had been locked on the Wooga-dol Audition, but whenever Ssa-yo wasn't streaming, that attention scattered in every direction — and Rena Universe was absorbing a considerable chunk of it.

As expected of the corporate faction that dominated Pangea TV's virtual scene in its early days.

Seeing in real life a situation I'd only ever heard about through old-timer gallery posts felt both fascinating and a little strange.

But only for a moment. I pulled my focus back to the Wooga-dol Audition and zeroed in on Group F, the one I was in.

Group F: Han Se-bin, Seo-a, Gold Kiwi, Miho, Nuri

I never thought I'd actually end up in the same group as Miho.

When I woke up that morning, a message from her was already waiting. It started with the usual "we're in the same group, looking forward to working with you" and escalated all the way to a coquettish confession that everything she'd said on the Round 1 stage had been completely sincere. She really wanted to get close to me.

Not a bad feeling, exactly. Just… complicated.

Other people's goodwill always felt nice. But getting close was a different matter entirely. That required mutual trust.

Then again, thinking about it… maybe this is a good opportunity?

The gap period after the Wooga-dol Audition ended and before Rena World began — that was actually the optimal window for building a virtual crew. That way, the crew members could push and pull for each other once Rena World started. Factoring that in, ending up in the same group this time felt more like a stroke of luck. A chance to run a preliminary test had just fallen into my lap.

Yeah. I didn't prepare anything special for Round 2 anyway.

I'd already shown enough capability in Round 1, and with the recognition and weight class I carried, I was confident my odds of getting eliminated in Round 2 were basically zero. Ssa-yo had even let that much slip during our private meeting. So I'd been pouring everything into Round 3 of the audition — and under these circumstances, I might as well leave Round 2 to Miho.

I had no use for crew members who just wanted a free ride. Members needed either synergy with each other or some kind of personal skill.

Can she actually pull it off, though?

Honestly, I had no idea. The Miho who'd been under Blueby's control before the regression and the free Miho of now looked like completely different people.

At the agreed time, the five of us in Group F gathered in a Discord room we'd set up in advance.

"Hello. I'm Han Se-bin."

First up was Han Se-bin — the streamer who'd drawn attention in Round 1 by showing off unexpectedly excellent rap skills.

"Nice to meet everyone. I'm Seo-a, Pangea TV's pure-blooded virtual."

"Ahaha, do you still do that bit even when there's no audience? Oh! I'm Gold Kiwi. I originally wanted to go with GoldKiwi, but the nickname was already taken, so I had to settle for this."

Gold Kiwi hadn't drawn much attention on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Round 1 stage, but from the short conversation we'd just had, she seemed to have a seriously sharp way with words.

"Hello. I'm Miho, the nine-tailed fox who'll steal all your hearts. Since Seo-a was keeping her concept going, I figured I'd try it once too."

A sultry voice that tickled the listener's ear.

"I'm Nuri. Looking forward to working with everyone!"

The last one, Nuri, had a style bursting with energy.

The full assembly of Group F's five — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a mixed bag of every type. Curiosity suddenly got the better of me, and I dug back through my pre-regression memories. So… how had Group F turned out again?

"Ah……"

"Hm? Something wrong?"

"Oh, no. I just heard a thud from outside. It was nothing."

Gold Kiwi kindly asked after my sudden sigh. Right — she had been Group F's sole Round 2 passer in the past. The sad truth was that everyone else had been eliminated.

It left a bitter taste, but there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't take responsibility for their lives.

Honestly, even if they get eliminated, just getting their faces out there in a large-scale production like this is already a benefit.

Most of the transfers had been small-time streamers on Rabbit TV who'd been grateful for even fifty viewers. And now they got to participate in an audition production that regularly cleared ten thousand concurrent viewers? Even with elimination already written in the stars, this was a lifeline you had to grab no matter what.

"We've only got two days left to prepare, so we absolutely have to decide what VRC ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠content we're doing today."

"Yeah, exactly. We need to lock it in as early as possible and start practicing."

"Does anyone have plans after today?"

We'd barely finished introductions before diving straight into the meeting. Everyone was overflowing with passion. Most of the transfers already had streaming experience, so they understood exactly how important this opportunity was. If they could shine even a little more and show a good side of themselves, they could convert floating viewers into dedicated fans…

But since I was planning to test Miho, I took a step back and settled into an observer's position.

"Alright, so we've roughly narrowed it down to three ideas."

With only two days of prep time, the viable VRC content options were limited. That was why, even before the regression, Round 2 of the audition had been widely rated as boring.

"I know a VRC map — I think a quiz show there would be fun."

"What about showing off some dances with MMD? Pangea TV viewers probably haven't seen much of that."

"I think a pro-con debate would be good. It feels like a chance for each of us to show off our individual charm."

Those were Han Se-bin's, Nuri's, and Miho's suggestions, respectively. Naturally, they turned to me and Gold Kiwi for our thoughts.

"I'm leaning toward the quiz show and the pro-con debate. MMD has a lot of glitches, and for an audition like this, it feels a little too much like phoning it in."

Everyone agreed with Gold Kiwi's take. That left two options.

"I think the pro-con debate would be good. You've already got debate topics in mind, right?"

When my turn came, I backed Miho's idea without missing a beat, as if I'd been waiting for it.

Alright then. What kind of topics would Miho put forward?

I quietly looked forward to seeing her sense for content.