The Gallery's Monster Verdict
The gallery was in an uproar. Post after post flooded the Lene Gallery, each one more chaotic than the last.
└ Anonymous: That part's crazy but the way she keeps her balance on Albion while attacking is the real mind-blower
└ SasaSasaSat: Yeah the balance is what gets me
└ WarriorWhoGrewUp: Then why the hell isn't she streaming you dumbass
[…Ah. This Albion raid? I tried it and failed.]
[It was really hard. I heard the patterns are easier than Tagirion's, but it felt about the same difficulty.]
[Honestly the cold weather makes it hard to focus too….]
[Did you see Lene's video? If you're talking about the Inquisitor, yeah I watched it.]
[Wow…. She's a real monster, isn't she?]
[I didn't just watch that one video. I got curious and checked out her older ones too….]
[It's not just fast reaction time or dynamic vision. It feels like she has incredible spatial awareness. Like she completely reads the situation around her.]
[That's how she can dodge attacks coming from behind.]
[Watching her give orders during the Albion raid, her split-second judgment is insane too….]
[All those things combined… I can only call her a monster.]
[She looks like she's had professional combat training.]
[What do you think would happen if you met her in PVP or AOS?]
[…Honestly, I don't have confidence. Even if we had the same training, the deciding factor would be talent….]
[I'm not saying I'd lose for sure, but I don't think I could win easily either.]
[Still, I'd like to face her as an opponent sometime. It would be fun.]
[…She'll probably reach a major corporation in no time.]
[Honestly I'm not the type to be entertaining on stream, but people watch me because of my skill, right?]
[But the Inquisitor? Should I call her Lene?]
[Anyway, she's skilled and her concept is solid, so her streams are fun too….]
For those who might not know—though it probably isn't necessary—Cha Ga-eun was a former world champion kickboxer who had competed in international tournaments. He was the undisputed number one in New Dimension's PVP and AOS rankings, having swept every major tournament held in the past six months. His streams on Liming regularly pulled over five thousand concurrent viewers, a true top-tier creator. And even he had called Lene a "monster he had no confidence in beating easily" and labeled her a "future Liming major corporation."
└ Anonymous: Lmao what the fuck
└ Lene🔸: Thanks for the compliment
└ Anonymous: Instead of messing around in the gallery, go stream you ten-year-old
└ Lene🔸: I have unavoidable circumstances, please understand
└ GalleryTrollSpecialist: You really are a fucking bitch…
└ Anonymous🔹: At this point isn't she the real troll?
└ Anonymous: Troll (Gallery Owner's main account)
└ WabaBak: Aww shit lmao
└ LastOr: No wonder there are so many downvotes lol
The gallery owner is playing New Dimension right now lol
└ Daguroth🔹: The downvote real-name system is working properly this time too?
└ Lene🔸: I didn't press it
└ Anonymous🔹: Wow that's an amazing fact you dumbass
└ Lene🔸: Don't swear
└ Artia: I've seen this kind of comment somewhere before
Gallery owner is 20 years old… hiatus period about a month… gender is male… (Solid Thumbs Up.jpg)
Huh lol
Three days had passed since the Albion raid opened in New Dimension. Lene's party remained the only one to have cleared it. That fact wasn't particularly strange. Even after the Tagirion raid patterns had been fully mapped, it had taken roughly a week for the next party to achieve a clear. No matter how well the patterns were understood, actually internalizing them was an entirely different matter. If anything, Lene's hastily assembled party clearing Albion the moment it opened was the abnormal part.
Already famous in New Dimension for her unusual concept as an Inquisitor, she had become the hottest topic in the currently trending game. It was only natural that Liming viewers would take an interest in the streamer named Lene. In other words, across countless internet communities, Lene was the center of attention—far greater than during the previous hacking controversy.
Any internet broadcaster… no, anyone could see that this was an opportunity. But the person in question, Lene herself—
"Hwaaaah…."
—was enjoying her self-declared one-month hiatus to the fullest.
"Everyone would be shocked if they found out…?"
With that absurdly mistaken thought…
Han Si-a. The illustrator who went by the name Yukino Toka online. She was a top-tier artist whose reputation needed no further explanation in the industry. One anecdote that illustrated her status: when Kaino Izumi, one of the leading VTubers dominating Japan's streaming market, debuted, the fact that her design was handled by "Yukino Toka" alone had generated significant buzz.
And right now, using a secret sub-account that almost no one knew about, she was checking her Nater DMs.
"Hmm…."
This sub-account had originally been created for her illustration work, but unlike her main account under the Yukino Toka name, this one existed purely for her hobbies. Even a top illustrator couldn't only draw what they wanted. If anything, the higher one's status, the more restrictions appeared. To escape those constraints, Si-a had made this new account. Whenever she used the handle Tada Shumi, she had only one rule in mind.
[Tada Shumi @TadaShumi]
If it doesn't interest me, I won't draw it. Send concepts via DM and I'll start when I feel like it. Payment is flexible—I don't mind receiving less, or even nothing at all. If I like it, I'll draw it. If I don't, I won't. Simple, and above all, a strict standard.
"Nothing interesting…."
Si-a had just finished a large commission the day before and needed a breather. Yet none of the requests in her Nater DMs caught her eye. Though the account was relatively unknown and received fewer messages, her skill still brought in steady inquiries. She had hoped to find something appealing among them, but unfortunately, this time was a miss.
"I guess it can't be helped…."
With a sigh of disappointment, she opened the final DM.
[Lene @Lene_ND ‧ Yesterday 6:32 PM]
Hello, I'd like to commission a VTuber illustration. Could you draw an Inquisitor in priest robes holding an enormous warhammer?
"Hmm…."
A VTuber illustration—commonly called a "panel"—was never a light undertaking. Si-a knew this better than anyone. But on this account, she had promised herself from the beginning that she wouldn't be bound by money or time.
"An Inquisitor holding a warhammer, huh…."
Of all the requests she'd seen today, this concept was the most appealing. Still, it wasn't quite enough to commit to immediately. It was good, but not at the level where she felt she had to draw it. She decided to ask for more details.
After all, she had nothing beyond the basic description to work with.
[Tada Shumi @TadaShumi ‧ 9:53 AM]
Hello. Sorry for the late reply. Do you have any character design settings or references prepared? If you have materials ready, I'd like to review them before deciding.
About an hour after Si-a sent her reply—
[Lene @Lene_ND ‧ 11:30 AM]
I've sent the photos.
Along with a simple description, several images arrived from the client.
[Tada Shumi @TadaShumi ‧ 11:32 AM]
I'll begin work starting today.
And after seeing the photos, Si-a had replied instantly.