57. First Meeting
57. First Meeting
***
In an instant, the man's arm, its strength pushed to the limit—
As it shot out with blinding speed, a massive black aura coiled around the entire length of the black spear.
Swish—!
With an eerie sound, the spearhead, wreathed in black light, lanced forward.
At the same time, the man's footwork shifted erratically as he leaped toward his opponent, moving as one with the spear. The tip of the black-lit spearhead trembled ceaselessly, tracing a path impossible to predict.
Not a straight, linear movement, but something strange, like a single black serpent.
And where that spearhead pointed stood a dancer draped in red cloth.
The spear-wielding man saw that the dancer still had not drawn a weapon. No matter how renowned the opponent, that looked arrogant beyond belief.
So he half-believed this strike would land.
Step.
The moment the red dancer took a single step forward—not reaching for a weapon, just stepping—that half-belief hardened into near certainty.
***
Conceding the first move.
It was a gesture commonly shown by the strong to the weak, and it also carried the implicit meaning of looking down on one's opponent.
The meaning could vary by situation, but one thing was certain: it was a gesture shown by the person with the superior skill.
Just as the saying goes—the first mover wins.
Taking the initiative mattered that much.
And right now, Serin was conceding the first move to her opponent.
It carried that meaning too, but honestly, another meaning loomed larger.
At the very least, she wanted her opponent to launch one attack as freely as they wished before losing.
Even the Platinum Tier bracket was practically newbie territory to her. Serin didn't want to show her viewers—or see herself—newbies crumpling helplessly the moment a match began.
So she conceded the first move to every opponent she met in matchmaking.
And at the end of it, the thought that she might lose never even crossed Serin's mind.
"..."
And now.
She simply watched the black-lit spearhead carve its bizarre angle toward her, then took one step.
She stepped forward for exactly that reason.
"Your form is good."
She spoke as she slowly grasped the end of the weight.
Not the cord—she took the weight itself directly in her hand and lifted it.
Most people I conceded the first move to, whether they recognized me or not, didn't commit fully to their opening attack—they used big techniques half-heartedly instead.
But this spearman she'd just met seemed to have shown his true strength.
Even the footwork charging toward her was far from ordinary—he was using a skill.
And I liked that immensely.
Swish—!
The spearhead, already wreathed in black light, had reached Serin's immediate vicinity.
The tip trembled without pause, holding countless variables, making it hard to guess where it would strike.
But Serin, as if she already knew, extended her weight toward the spearhead's tip—aimed at her heart—and unleashed a skill.
—Heavy Spike (重錐)
Red energy swirled up from the end of the weight, as if bursting with immense force at its tip.
Like pressing down on a snake that had suddenly surged up from below, the weight met the spearhead's tip.
BOOM!
Faster than the black-lit spearhead could rise from below, it was slammed into the Colosseum floor, crushed beneath the blood-red weight.
"How did—"
The man's mouth fell open blankly, as if he'd lost all sense of direction after his spearhead was pinned to the ground.
But he couldn't finish his sentence.
Because Serin, having confirmed through the sensation in her hand alone that the weight had driven the spearhead deep into the floor, immediately followed up with another skill.
—Single Kick (一脚)
Using the weight touching the ground as her pivot, the slender dancer's body spun swiftly. Through the red cloth, a smooth leg emerged, suffused with a crimson aura like blood, and lashed out.
Thwack!
Serin's blood-wreathed leg struck the man's head with brutal force.
An immaculately clean hit.
—Victory!
Serin spotted the familiar hologram adorning one side of her vision and straightened up.
*
————
[Platinum Tier 3 —> Platinum Tier 2]
—271 LP —> 302 LP
—Additional bonus LP has been awarded for the ongoing win streak.
————
*
The opponent had already vanished, wrapped in light.
Watching the result she'd envisioned unfold exactly as planned, she even felt refreshed.
Normally, she would have savored that refreshment alone in the Colosseum and called it a day. But having someone she could actually talk to still felt novel, even now.
She checked the viewer count, which had already surged to twenty thousand, and opened her mouth.
"That spearman's form just now—didn't you all think it was good too?"
[?????]
[Rin what was that skill just now? You have a kick skill too?]
[Rin, you're killing me!!!]
[I can only see Rin, the opponent was a spearman?]
[fr I don't even care who the opponent is, I only see Rin lolololol]
[That kick skill, Single Kick, is literally the first basic skill you learn lololol]
[The opponent's probably just dumbfounded lololol]
[What's that head-exploding sound? I'm getting chills just watching;]
[Every single movement is genuinely nothing short of amazing fr]
[Watching someone use a Crescent-Moon Weight in the Arena is just absurd]
[I only saw you with a greatsword yesterday, what the hell is this??]
[Rin do you seriously use every single Dancer skill??]
[Most people seal away all the skills that are too weak to use, but you really use them all]
As she scanned the rapidly scrolling chat, she felt oddly self-conscious and fiddled with her Crescent-Moon Weight.
I didn't think I'd done anything all that impressive.
The chat's huge reactions every single time always felt strange to her.
And like a child wanting praise, I found myself enjoying those chat reactions. It was ridiculous, but I couldn't deny that it felt good.
She'd become a streamer through a chance opportunity, but just watching the chat scroll by that fast gave her a sense of satisfaction—that she'd made the right choice.
Being acknowledged or drawing admiration from someone in real time gave her a feeling close to intoxication.
Ding-a-ling!!
『Ruel donated 100,000 won!』
<It's not much, but here's a donation.>
"Ah. Ruel, thank you for the 100,000 won donation. And that's plenty—it's a lot of money."
On top of that, donations big enough that calling them side income felt embarrassing kept coming in, and that in itself wasn't unpleasant.
Just thinking briefly about how much she'd received today—it was a fairly large sum.
From Jeanne d'Arc alone, two million won. Adding the other donations that had come in, it exceeded three million won.
The message telling people not to donate was surely still written on the stream screen.
Yet they donated anyway. Seeing that, I wondered if I'd shown the viewers something they liked enough to make them want to donate.
As she thought this, she checked the time displayed on one side of the hologram and spoke up.
"It's already seven."
She felt it was about time to wrap up the stream.
She'd played around ten Arena matches and steadily climbed the tiers. All in all, it felt like a productive stream.
"Then I'll end today's stream here."
[What do you mean already????]
[Ending streams is a really bad habit, you still haven't fixed it?]
[fr your stream time is way too short]
[Seriously, stream just a little longer]
[Ah lolol I bought a greatsword yesterday but after watching your stream today I'm craving a Crescent-Moon Weight]
[A Crescent-Moon Weight is basically Rin-exclusive at this point, even if you tell people to use it they can't lolol]
[Only a 3-hour stream is seriously ridiculous]
[Or at least do a chatting stream while you eat dinner, go go]
[Yeah, at least do Just Chatting]
Chat messages expressing disappointment, or saying they couldn't understand the short stream time.
I wanted to stream a bit longer too, but I had too much to do afterward.
She had to check the email from the person claiming to be a pro team coach, and she'd scheduled a meeting around nine regarding the NewTube editor selection content for tomorrow, so she also needed to talk with Sua.
And on top of that, factoring in her scheduled workout... she felt like even several bodies wouldn't be enough.
"Honestly, I'd like to stream a bit longer too. But I have the editor selection content tomorrow... and there's just too much I have to do today, so I can't help it."
[Right, you said yesterday you were doing editor selection content]
[Editor??]
[She said she's starting a NewTube channel called RinTube]
[lolol well, there's more than one or two NewTubers milking Rin-related content]
[If she checks her email, there's probably hundreds of editor applications lololol]
[The application period is only two days, so probably not that many?]
[I heard that already spread through the community, so a ton of people are applying]
[Isn't it two days counting through tomorrow?]
"First, I'm planning to quickly sort through the emails that have come in as of today and pick out a few good ones, then check the email again tomorrow before I start the stream."
Honestly, even now, she felt like she'd packed the schedule too tightly in her rush to pick an editor quickly.
Strictly speaking, the application period wasn't even two days—just a little over one day? That was about it.
For both me and the editor, that time was far too short.
'I should leave more breathing room next time.'
Staring at the disappointed chat any longer would only make her more reluctant, so she moved to end it right away.
"I'll be going now."
With those words, she immediately ended the stream.
Once the chat window deactivated and messages stopped scrolling up.
I was about to log out of Another World right away.
Ding!
[Jeanne d'Arc: Your stream ended... if you don't mind, could we talk for a moment?]
***
A garden beautifully landscaped across a vast estate.
Two women were now entering the massive mansion at its center.
"This is amazing."
Serin spoke, marveling that all this space was entirely private.
"I wanted to treat you properly."
Jeanne d'Arc—Eunha—was watching Serin's reaction as she carefully guided her into the mansion.
She felt a quiet pride in the house she'd decorated.
She hadn't decorated it specifically to show Rin, but seeing that surprised expression still made her happy.
"Please, have a seat here, Rin."
Eunha led her to the first-floor reception room of the massive mansion and spoke carefully.
Serin nodded without a word and took a seat in the reception room.
Eunha sat down across from her and slowly parted her lips.
"You probably wanted to rest after your stream, so I'm sorry for calling you out like this."
"No. A conversation won't take that long. It's fine."
Eunha flinched slightly at Serin's words, which made clear from the start that she had no intention of staying long. But she parted her lips again.
"I just wanted to meet you once, Rin. Seeing you in person, you're even more beautiful."
'...?'
Right now she was clearly a game character, so Serin wondered what she meant by that as she opened her mouth.
"You're very beautiful too, Jeanne d'Arc. But are you actually a woman in real life as well?"
She was a little concerned whether the person who'd donated such a large sum was actually a woman, or a man wearing a female character.
"Ah... yes, I'm a woman in real life too."
Eunha answered awkwardly and looked at Serin more closely.
Such a composed demeanor.
Even seeing her appearance along with the nickname Jeanne d'Arc, Rin showed no particular reaction whatsoever.
Realizing that anew, Eunha felt ridiculous.
When she walked down the street, fans followed her as if it were only natural. Countless malicious stalkers—commonly called paparazzi—existed too. Had she let herself fall into arrogance?
She'd thought she'd become fairly well-known over two years of pro play.
She'd naturally assumed Rin would recognize her too, but she'd simply been mistaken.
"..."
But seeing Rin like that, Eunha actually smiled faintly.
'What an interesting person.'
That was how it felt.
Eunha grew more intrigued by this person called Rin.
And in contrast.
"...?"
The person who'd been staring at her suddenly smiled, and Serin had no idea why.