The Heavenly Demon Will Promote You (2)
The chat exploded the moment the match loaded.
“It’s gotta be a fake, right? No way the Heavenly Demon herself would be here.”
Enri sounded so confident I almost laughed. My only character in Apis was the Heavenly Demon, currently sitting at Master rank. Even if I queued up, there was zero chance of running into her. And if I had decided to level an alt, why on earth would someone who only ever used martial arts suddenly pick a mana-based Battle Mage—one of the classes furthest from close-range combat?
“Still… I’m curious. Let’s check it out.”
She accepted the match. The scenery around us shifted. Normally Enri would have pulled up the map right away, but this time she couldn’t. She simply stood there, frozen.
Because the person who should never have been here was standing right in front of her.
“Oh. Enri. What a coincidence.”
It really was me.
??????????
Why is she here?
I had hurled the staff—the very symbol of a Battle Mage—clear across the arena. Smiling brightly, I waved at the stunned Enri.
“Why are you coming out of there, Heavenly Demon?!”
“What do you mean, why? I came to play the game.”
“Then why aren’t you playing the Heavenly Demon?! Why are you suddenly a Battle Mage?!”
My shout, thick with resentment, only made her tilt her head in confusion. From Ara’s perspective, she had no idea why Enri was so furious. Still, because it was Enri, she answered with patience.
“Last time we played Sky’s End, remember? When I fought Harkia, mixing magic and martial arts looked incredibly fun. So I decided to try it myself.”
“Why right now of all times!”
Any other day, Enri would have been thrilled to run into me. But today the timing was catastrophic.
“You’re showing up during my promotion match?!”
One match at a time. Every single game mattered in promotion. And now I had to face her? How was I supposed to win against that monster?! This… this was completely unfair!
“Looks like the situation is bad for you.”
“Right?! You think so too, don’t you? So could you please just throw the match?!”
Please. I finally got one win and now I’m about to eat a free loss? I can’t accept that.
Even though Enri begged with desperate eyes, I only gave her an awkward, troubled smile.
“Sorry, but I have no intention of throwing on purpose.”
“O-of course not. I was just kidding.”
I hadn’t actually meant it. If I deliberately lost to Enri here, the chat would explode with accusations of match-fixing. Her wiki page would gain an entire new “Controversy” section. Sure, Enri burned her stream every other day, but she wasn’t about to invite that kind of storm just to climb Diamond.
“Just… play seriously, okay?”
“Do you truly wish for me to be serious?”
“…Just don’t three-second me.”
Enri had no desire to break the 2.7-second record set by Whip Master Love. Dekay’s three-second cut video was still being memed to death. If she set a new record, the chat would talk about nothing else for days.
“Would I ever do something so cruel to you?”
“Right?”
Honestly, that 2.7-second whip video was pretty brutal. The lash flew in at a speed the eye couldn’t follow, wrapped around the neck, and snapped it in an instant. If Enri had been on the receiving end, she probably would have had nightmares for days.
“Instead, I’ll show you something fun.”
“I really don’t need that.”
The moment the system announced the start of the match, Enri jumped backward. Her mind was racing.
I can’t stop her from closing the distance. It’s impossible to even track her movement with my eyes. So I’ll prepare to shake her off from the very beginning. She probably won’t go for the kill right away either. Even if I lose, I’ll struggle with everything I have.
Enri gripped her spear tightly with renewed resolve, but I didn’t move. I simply stood in place, tilting my head.
Why is she acting like that?
“Enri. May I ask you one thing?”
“What is it?”
“How exactly do you use magic?”
The completely unexpected question left Enri speechless for a moment.
“Is this your first time using magic?”
“When would I have ever had the chance to use magic?”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t used a single spell during our time in Sky’s End either. No wonder she didn’t know.
“You should have at least done the tutorial.”
“I thought winging it would be enough.”
Well, someone like me could probably beat most players without magic, but magic was an entirely different concept.
“I’d love to explain it to you, but the game has already started! Since we’re enemies, I can’t just teach you!”
Even though defeat was basically guaranteed, Enri’s declaration that she would still give it her all made my eyes curve into gentle arcs.
“Such spirit. Very well. I shall do as you wish.”
“No! That was a joke for the stream! Please go easy on—”
Enri’s excuse never finished.
I vanished from her sight and reappeared right in front of her.
Heavenly Demon. Why are you throwing punches when your weakness is supposed to be close-range combat as a Battle Mage?
The instant our eyes met, Enri closed hers and accepted her fate.
Yeah. Let’s just pretend the promotion series was best of three instead of best of five.
My fist connected.
“How in the world can a Battle Mage move like that?”
Enri glared at me, brows furrowed. There was clear anger in her voice. Losing a precious promotion match seemed to be a serious issue for her.
This is my fault. I’m sorry.
It wasn’t that I had nothing to say. I hadn’t come here to ruin her promotion match. I had simply come to try something fun and happened to run into her. There was no point in venting her frustration at me. Besides, according to the standards of the Heavenly Demon Cult, being weak was a sin in itself. If anyone was at fault, it was the weakling Enri.
My mind was full of things I could say that would make her heart explode, but I kept my silence. I didn’t want her to hate me over some careless remark.
“I’m going to queue for the next game.”
“Yes. Take care.”
“And if you’re going to study magic, watching MyTube videos will be faster than the tutorial.”
After parting with Enri, I exited the VR world and returned to reality. When I sat up inside the capsule, the dimly lit room greeted me. It was already evening.
One of the things I had come to feel keenly since arriving in the modern world was how strangely fast time passed. Back in the Murim, simply spending a single day in seclusion had felt like torture. These days, I often felt that a day was too short.
Could the flow of time in the Murim and the modern world be different?
Shaking off the silly thought, I stretched, stood up, and picked up my smartphone.
She had said she was challenging for Diamond promotion. I had answered her questions after teaching her last time, but I had never actually watched her play. It seemed her skills had improved quite a bit.
Let’s take a look.
Finding Enri’s stream wasn’t difficult. When I had created the account and handed over the permissions last time, she had only followed my channel. I clicked on the single entry in the follow list—her stream—and immediately heard her complaining.
She kept saying how unlucky she was. While others climbed by facing Platinum and Diamond locals, she kept running into trucks that smashed her to pieces. It was a pitiful sight, but the viewers showed her zero mercy.
The continuous barrage of criticism seemed to make Enri’s blood boil. Her eyes were spinning. It looked like it would take her a while before she could queue again. Since she’d be like this for a while, I decided to order dinner.
I turned on her stream on the computer and opened the delivery app. For some reason, today felt like a meat day.
After finishing the order, I looked back at the monitor and saw that Enri had already entered a new game.
When did she queue? She was grumbling just a second ago.
Her opponent this time was a Sword-and-Shield Knight. Considering the difference between a spear and a sword, Enri should have had the advantage. But the presence of a shield narrowed the gap considerably. In the end, victory would be decided by pure skill.
The moment the match began, Enri created distance. She had gotten used to controlling the range. She was naturally maintaining the exact distance where only her spear could reach. All those repeated lessons seemed to be paying off.
The Sword-and-Shield Knight froze for a moment, then instead of approaching, he turned his back on her.
What?
Turning your back in a 1v1 duel was practically begging to be killed. If Enri charged in with her spear, he would take massive damage. Yet Enri didn’t punish his brazen behavior. She simply stared at the fleeing knight in utter confusion.
Did I only teach her how to kite and stall opponents to death? Does she not even know how to punish anymore?
My head hurt. If only she had charged in thoughtlessly like she used to, she would have won.
“Are you seriously running away like a coward?!”
“Then stop acting so pathetic and only playing with your spear!”
The Sword-and-Shield Knight shouted back and slipped into the crowd of NPCs.
Only then did I realize the map was the Market. If my memory served me right, this place was full of random variables. On a map like this, running away actually had value. There were many different strategies available for securing victory.
Enri blinked, watching the knight’s disappearing back, then chose to chase him.
That choice was, without a doubt, the worst possible decision.
She should have dragged the opponent into her own territory. Why was she willingly stepping into his? That was the same as handing him the win.
She was going to get wrecked.
My prediction proved correct in spectacular fashion. The Sword-and-Shield Knight who had supposedly run far away had actually hidden among the crowd, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Enri took a heavy blow and lost a massive chunk of health.
There was no need to watch any further. This match was over.
I had thought she had grown a little, but she still had so many weaknesses. Enri. It seems the Diamond rank is still far away for you.