178. A Mysterious Gothic Lolita
178. A Mysterious Gothic Lolita
***
Swoosh!
The Crescent-Moon Weight traced a line of blood through the air as it landed a near-critical blow on the assassin. When I spun around, what came into view through my wildly disheveled silver hair was a spectacle of countless daggers that seemed to embroider the sky itself.
FWIP-FWIP-FWIP-FWIP!!!
The instant the countless daggers weaving through the air were loosed all at once, a baptism of blades unfolded like an inescapable net that left not a single gap.
......
Beyond the screen, a red-haired woman who had been staring blankly at that desperate situation tilted her head.
One of Team Charlemagne's core players, player name Angelica.
Choi Yena tilted her head the moment she saw it while watching Rin's stream.
"...That's not good."
How would she herself handle that situation?
Like a habit, she had inserted herself into the silver-haired woman's crisis.
'Take the three daggers on the right and break through head-on, then.'
Blocking would only cost her, and no matter how she thought about it, no other option came to mind without accepting some damage.
So if it were Yena herself, she would probably give flesh to take bone and force a frontal breakthrough.
Then, abruptly, the silver-haired woman twisted the corner of her lips alluringly and raised her right hand.
At that, the Crescent-Moon Weight seemed to rise slightly via the cord attached to her right hand, then soon slipped from her grasp and fell.
Thud.
Dropping her weapon as if giving up, the woman looked as though she would be skewered by the countless daggers at any moment and end right there.
But the next instant, Yena's gaze went blankly to the woman seizing the red cord.
Because the moment she saw it, the thought "Dancer" struck her instantly—the woman's gestures and movements were so utterly natural.
—Dance of Requiem.
As the red cord embroidered the space, following a hand that moved as if painting a single dance, the flying daggers began to be drawn toward the red cord as though sucked in.
Literally, the instant they touched the cord, the daggers kept vanishing like mirages. The sight of hundreds of daggers disappearing uncannily in time with the woman's gestures was nothing short of an illusion.
"Was there a counter skill like that?"
Even while staring at the screen, Yena couldn't quite believe the situation.
A counter bordering on a cheat key. The sight of the red cord expanding endlessly, absorbing the daggers as it stretched in response to the woman's gestures, was overwhelming spectacle in itself.
If such a broken counter existed, why didn't she know about it? But seeing Rin, who had neutralized every attack at the end of it, Yena understood all of it.
No counterattack or impact had reached the opponent, who had widened the distance.
Moreover, even as the opponent finished the skill and began throwing daggers again, Rin couldn't follow up with a proper attack.
On top of that, it seemed she could only deploy attack skills after picking the Crescent-Moon Weight back up from the ground where it had fallen.
In the end, even if it defended, it was a skill with many openings afterward.
Clack!
But the sight of the silver-haired woman instantly kicking the fallen Crescent-Moon Weight up from the ground, snatching it, and immediately succeeding at a parry was wondrous in itself.
Clang!
Right after, seeing the woman close in using Bloodstained Step, it was obvious even without watching further that it was over.
"Is this why Sihyeon told me to watch...?"
She had only watched a few arena matches so far, but even that was enough to make Rin's movements clearly look different. Even the proficiency of each individual skill was unbelievably high.
Back when she'd assumed Sihyeon was just watching some ordinary female streamer, he'd said the person had a scrim lined up and suggested she watch at least once, but she hadn't really been interested. Because something about it had bothered her.
But now, having happened to tune in, Yena found herself watching Rin's stream as if spellbound.
【Master Promotion Series】
The stream title was Master Promotion Series, something any Another World user couldn't help but be interested in.
It was the bracket with the biggest tier gap from the one below it, and the bracket where interest was highest because it determined whether or not you received tier-based benefits.
There was even a saying that real skilled players started at Master Tier.
Moreover, by the Master Promotion Series system, matchmaking opponents were by default only matched against those with 100 Master points or more. So even though the matchmaking level was clearly different from Diamond, the streamer called Rin didn't seem bothered in the slightest.
Vrrrm.
As the match ended and the sound of the next queue matchmaking rang out, Rin murmured offhandedly.
—I feel like the users' level is gradually going up.
Contrary to her words, her expression was utterly relaxed. Her confidence-filled demeanor didn't seem to feel the weight of Master Promotion Series at all.
Watching that, Yena blurted out a word without realizing it.
"Rin, this person seems like the genius type too."
Even among talented players, the "true geniuses" showed it outwardly. Top-ranked players, or players truly rated as having class, always carried that composure in themselves.
Yena, who had watched the stream through tinted glasses when she first tuned in, let out an involuntary chuckle as she sensed something similar from Rin.
And then a thought struck her.
"We're not going to get smashed in the scrim against this person, are we?"
The scrim scheduled for this Friday. She even felt needless worry about whether they might lose.
"Nah... no way."
Then Yena laughed as if it were impossible and shook her head.
No matter what, she couldn't imagine pro players like themselves losing to someone who did internet broadcasting.
...Even now, Yena didn't know the fact that Serin had already had a scrim against G1, the number-one team in the league.
***
Ding!!
Before she knew it, the Master Promotion Series matchmaking queue popped with only a single match left.
Serin pressed Yes as usual, but unusually, another prompt appeared.
*
————
This is an event applied only to users who have won all three Master Promotion Series matches!
Current matched opponent's tier level: Master Tier 200 points ±a
-On victory, start at 100 Master points.
-On defeat, loss count accrues x2.
-Yes / No
No penalty for declining the match.
————
*
A hologram with extremely unusual contents.
About to press Yes without much thought, Serin opened her mouth.
"Viewers, can you all see this hologram too?"
I wondered if only I could see it, or whether this was something that normally existed.
[Whoa, this was a thing?]
[What kind of hidden message is this lololol?]
[Definitely go go go go]
[Even if you can't win this, you have to go for it, go go]
[If it's Rin, of course it's Yes!]
[Wait, how does a Master Promotion Series match against Master 200 points? Isn't that totally absurd?]
[For real, isn't that kind of absurd?]
[But if it's Rin, it's totally doable]
While watching the various chats go by, I moved my hand as it was.
—Yes.
Ding.
Soon after, the opponent materialized as light within the Colosseum.
Watching that, I felt both fascinated and entertained.
An event match like this wasn't bad. No, it was actually good.
Considering the stingy points that normally rose by less than 20 even when winning in Diamond Tier, this single match was worth at least five wins.
Even just weighing the gains and losses, I stood to gain far more.
"Since this is the last promotion match, I'll focus."
Saying that, I minimized the chat window again and scanned the opponent who had appeared.
The first thing that caught my eye was an extremely small frame.
The woman's body was so small she might barely clear 150cm, which was peculiar in itself.
Probably a middle schooler. Or at best, a first-year high schooler. Her appearance looked young enough to be about that.
The twin-tail hairstyle in soft pink contrasted with a cynical impression, and that imbalance somehow created a unique atmosphere that suited her.
Furthermore, her pitch-black goth-loli style outfit, dark beyond measure, gave off the feel of a character who might appear in some particular anime.
That opponent also looked at me, then smiled brightly over her cynical impression.
"What the heck, for real. It's Rin?"
As the opponent murmured in a tone that sounded utterly satisfied, I felt as though this matchmaking had been intentional.
"Yes... well, you're quite an unusual person, aren't you?"
The opponent's appearance and outfit were certainly unusual, but more than that, her getup was even more unusual.
First of all, the biggest peculiarity was that she wasn't holding any weapon at all.
In Another World, it was systemically impossible to equip or unequip items during an arena match.
Which meant that for this woman in goth-loli attire, that defenseless appearance itself was no different from her "combat stance."
'Is there a class that fights with just the body?'
The question came to me without realizing it.
Moreover, I couldn't tell whether that small frame was simply a matter of customization or a matter of class.
"Ah, Rin's expression, seriously. Why is even your curious expression so pretty? Seeing you face-to-face like this, you're even prettier!"
The opponent murmured in a cynical voice that matched her appearance, and I just laughed awkwardly.
"...Thanks for the compliment."
—The duel will begin shortly.
Soon the familiar message appeared and the waiting time began counting down.
I felt a huge curiosity about the opponent.
Normally I'd never asked about an opponent's class or skills before facing them, but honestly, right now I was so curious I could hardly hold back.
—5.
"Excuse me, what's your class, if you don't mind?"
"Curious?"
At the opponent's bright reply, as if she'd been waiting for the question, I just shut my mouth.
—3.
Answering a question with a question.
Unless we're close, I find that really unpleasant, so I simply didn't feel like talking anymore.
"I'll yield the first move."
Before the countdown ended, I said it out of habit and adjusted my grip on the Crescent-Moon Weight.
—1.
When the countdown ended like that, the opponent, for some reason, stretched both arms high above her head as if savoring every bit of leisure.
"Yaaawn."
As if stretching, she winked one eye in a defenseless pose that seemed to express emotion, and in that instant I got goosebumps and immediately averted my gaze.
"Ah. Hey, Rin! I want to yield the first move too, you know? Don't you want to come at me first?"
It was the first time I'd ever heard such a thing in all my time in the arena, and an involuntary laugh escaped me first.
"You'll regret it, you know?"
"Yeah. It's fine, I'm confident."
As the woman spoke confidently, I noticed anew how pale her skin was.