Chapter 53

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 53

Chapter Title: Ariant World Strongest Tournament (3)

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A stunning piece of news spread through <<Cheisi's Tales>>.

Word spread that Abyss had launched Cheisi's dedicated board, "Cat Tower."

Sensing the end of <<Cheisi's Tales>>—a makeshift community born from the lack of an official Abyss board—users posted with a sense of relief. Then, an even more shocking update hit.

A notice written by Cheisi herself: someone was debuting as a streamer on Abyss.

It only said "Death Knight," with no exact name.

But most users on <<Cheisi's Tales>> were die-hard fans who'd watched her streams right up to the end.

Almost no one was left guessing who "Death Knight" meant.

Users from <<Cheisi's Tales>> rushed over to Abyss.

It wasn't quite on the level of <<Cheisi's Tales>>, but news of a cute girl player—the sole owner of the "Fog Observatory" item—debuting as a streamer drew a crowd.

A single promo post was already drawing tons of viewers to Yuwol's stream.

Yuwol hadn't even gone live yet, but her stream's waiting room already had over ten thousand viewers.

"...Back in my day, zero viewers for the debut."

Cheisi reminisced while eyeing the viewer count on Yuwol's stream.

The days of streaming to an empty chat, no nicknames in sight. It had been fun enough, but no desire to relive it.

More viewers were definitely better.

The Lens Monster began flapping its wings rapidly.

Yuwol's face visibly stiffened.

"I-it's... on... on air..."

Her voice trembled as she muttered. Spotting the incoming chat, she clamped her mouth shut and cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Ah, haha. Greetings, everyone. I hope you've been well."

Her first words reeked of tension.

"Maybe I should drop some encouragement."

Cheisi pondered what to say from outside the Lens Monster, but seeing Yuwol's state, she quietly opened her browser and logged into Abyss instead.

Anyone trying something new feels fear.

They need certainty.

Dozens of chats per second.

From casual hellos to heartfelt welcomes. Even love confessions.

"......"

The moment she realized the world was kinder than she thought...

Confidence surged.

"E-everyone. Call me Yuwol. Or... no."

Cheisi spotted the corner of Yuwol's mouth twitch upward.

"...Yuwol's fine. Yeah, that... I prepped this fancy speech, but without the helmet, my normal voice feels awkward... Is this okay? Should I go back to normal? D-do you like this...?"

Still a bit awkward, but her voice grew excited.

Her eyes glued to chat, stumbling over words, yet stories poured out endlessly.

At this rate, being one viewer was enough support.

"Ah, I wanna stream too."

She'd lent her gear to Yuwol. No setup meant her streaming itch was building up.

Of course, she'd hold off for now.

While quietly watching, Cheisi spotted villains in the chat.

"...Those jerks."

Ads and malicious over-the-line spam.

The auto-delete bot should've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been on, but something must've glitched during startup—it wasn't working.

Chats scrolled fast enough to vanish quickly, but the same accounts repeating the same crap stood out, grating on her nerves.

"Can I get mod powers?"

"...Mod? What's that...?"

"I'll show you."

After some back-and-forth, Cheisi snagged mod rights from Yuwol.

She tweaked settings, resummoned the delete bot, and purged the worst offenders.

'You're banned. You too. Permanent for you.'

Thus, Cheisi unleashed a silent massacre in chat.

Next to Runein Forest lay a plain roamed by slimes—a narrow monster zone amid ordinary grass-scented land.

No threats beyond mobs, it was a picnic spot for VR families. There, a duel-sized arena had been set up for two players.

"Why do we have to fill out the form ourselves?"

"Martial tournament vibe, right? Kinda cool."

Beside the arena: a signup area and NPC receptionist, courtesy of Ariant World for the Abyss tourney.

"Whoa, even prelim clears get rewards."

"'Finals Qualifier' title and common material pick. Can we grab anything?"

"Only stuff you've gotten before."

"Hm, just skips busywork, huh."

Cheisi, tailing Yuwol after warping to Runein Village, perked up at the chatter.

The two guys, streamer-types, sounded intriguing.

"...That common material pick might come in handy somewhere."

Limited selection, but potential uses.

Cheisi mulled it over briefly and decided the rewards weren't worth entering.

She considered prelim-only for the prize then forfeiting, but it was just time sink without immediate need.

Yuwol finished her meticulous form and handed it to the NPC, then turned to Cheisi.

"Not entering, Cheisi?"

"Streamer tourney? Nah."

"Why?"

"Rewards aren't tempting, and I'm busier hunting new zones."

"Oh... okay."

Yuwol sounded disappointed.

"Were you looking forward to me competing?"

"Yeah... Thought it'd be a good duel chance."

"Plenty of chances later."

Cheisi shrugged.

"And if I need the rewards, I might join."

Signup window was still open. If new-zone hunting demanded it, she could always enter.

"...Gotcha. But how long do I keep streaming...?"

"Why ask me?"

"Uh, guess today's stream ends here."

"Tell the viewers."

Hitting her limit, Yuwol announced the abrupt end to chat.

After a quick logoff to reclaim her gear, Cheisi fired up her stream and faced disappointed fans.

"...My streaming career's not even 10 days old."

League of Legends stream plus Ariant World debut barely hit 10 days total. Newbie hype on Yuwol was inevitable, but technically, Cheisi was fresh too.

"...Gotta hunt zone-discovery titles. Don't wanna waste time on tourney when rewards aren't useful now."

"Still, might need that material pick someday, so let's revisit jellyfish umbrella mats."

Cheisi opened her inventory.

Rare.

Abyss streamer "Yokai Dragon's" viewer board.

"She said no entry, no entry!"

Stunned by the news, Yokai Dragon logged into Rare ASAP.

She clicked a popular post with a Cheisi stream clip and hit play.

"Streamer tourney? Nah."

Watching the clip, Yorongi glared, teeth chattering in rage.

"She straight-up said no entry! What the hell! Fine, entering's whatever, but why... of all people..."

The Ariant World Strongest Tournament—a gathering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of top Abyss streamers.

A week after launch, with prizes including a grand champion reward.

Yorongi aimed for top 8 minimum, winner maximum. Victory meant her first trophy ever across all fields. Even top 8 would be a graceful exit.

"...Grinded levels hard in Coward Cove. Vowed no prelim dropout."

Coward Cove: players' nickname for Azelchen's other hunting ground found yesterday. Droplet monsters, lower diff than merman swamp but less XP—longer grinds.

Merit: hit level 10 sans Merman King. Nicknamed for scared players flocking there.

Yorongi had grinded there to level 10 and job-changed to Priest.

"Got job skills, higher level—thought prelims safe... But."

Yorongi stared holes into the bracket photo from Abyss board "Rare."

Denial futile—it was real. First opponent: Cheisi. Yorongi wailed.

"Why give Yorongi this trial!!!!!!"

Backtracking on "no entry"? No biggie.

Clip showed it was casual. Minds change.

But why her? In prelims round 1. Opening match.

"Hgyaaaaaaaah—!"