A Spectator's Journey to the Worlds

During the months leading up to the opening of the Worlds, we helped ZX prepare by scrimming with them regularly. At the same time, our own teamwork and independent playmaking improved steadily. We kept raising the bar until both sides were satisfied with the level of competition, and before we knew it, the Worlds season had arrived.

Naturally, ZX—who had grown even stronger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through our scrims—had already conquered the league and secured the number one seed. They were now busy with advertisement shoots and preparing to depart for China, where the tournament would be held. It was about time for us to find new scrim partners beyond ZX, but...

Do we really need a new scrim partner that badly?

By the 2039 season, we had consistently held the upper hand against the world's top team in scrims while devoting months exclusively to practice. Our teamwork and individual skills had risen considerably as a result. Most importantly, our support player currently belonged to ZX, so there was no real need to chase after new scrim partners just to keep grinding.

Seongjun and Jaehyun both looked exhausted from the insane pace of game practice anyway.

For various internal and external reasons, we decided to take a few weeks of rest. Back at our main house, I spent the time browsing various VA-related communities.

Worlds talk is everywhere, as expected.

Since it was the first Worlds of its kind, nearly every community was on fire with discussions about the participating teams. Reading through the posts, I learned that each major league—Korea, China, the UK, Italy, Germany, France, and North America—would send four teams. Minor leagues would send the four teams that advanced to the semifinals or better in a separate Minor League Cup held before the Worlds.

But hasn't the scale of the Worlds grown quite a bit compared to my previous life?

In my previous life, only three teams each came from Korea, China, and North America, while European teams from Italy, Germany, France, and the UK were grouped into a single European category with just five slots total. Now the number of Worlds tickets given to Korea, China, and North America had increased from three to four each. Europe receiving four tickets per league showed that interest and competitive strength there had grown significantly compared to before. The entire esports market had expanded accordingly.

So that's why there were so many unfamiliar nicknames sitting in the upper-mid ranks of solo queue.

With things like this, even the statement that ZX would win easily had become quite uncertain. For someone like me, who thought she already knew all the future outcomes, this had become a rather interesting development.

I originally assumed that aside from the change from 5v5 to 4v4 team play, everything else would be similar and ZX would dominate without much trouble. But with this, the story changes.

The massive addition of European teams meant matchups ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠completely different from the Worlds of my previous life would appear frequently. If European players shone while domestic SS-rank players like Hades had not yet fully bloomed, the Worlds landscape would undoubtedly become fiercely competitive.

And then there was the eternal topic that always surfaced right before the Worlds season: the Gald Cup discussion.

So, who will win?

From AI-generated power rankings of each team and player to completely subjective personal rankings, the VA gallery was flooded with every possible Worlds prediction imaginable. I hadn't been particularly interested at first, but after seeing the news, my curiosity was piqued. I picked one of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠posts with the highest views and recommendations and started reading.

I closed the flaming comment section about V4's ranking and focused on the list again. Several European teams that had failed to even reach the 2039 Worlds in my previous life were now on the ranking. RIH and CBD are new additions?

The mere fact that two teams that hadn't even existed before were now added to the championship contender list meant that everything—from the bracket to each team's scrim partners—would change. Since this year's Worlds was being held in nearby China, I found myself wanting to attend in person and see how it all unfolded.

When I mentioned attending the Worlds in person to my sister, she immediately sprang into action as if she'd been waiting for those exact words. After completing departure procedures, we arrived at the airfield where a massive private jet revealed itself.

"Wow... Thanks to the Saintess, I get to ride an airplane in my lifetime..."

"Seongjun. This isn't even a regular plane—it's a private jet. A private jet."

Park Seongjun seemed to have never flown before and kept exclaiming in awe. Shin Jaehyun, who had relatively more experience, stood beside him explaining everything about the airport and the plane in detail.

I watched them for a moment before giving my sister a subtle signal.

"Shall we board now?"

My sister calmed down both the overly excited Shin Jaehyun and the wide-eyed Park Seongjun, who found everything fascinating. Even after we entered the cabin, they couldn't calm down, marveling at the array of amenities that left nothing to be desired. Eventually, their tension—which had doubled from normal—wore me out, so I handed them off to my sister again. She shot me a slightly resentful look but still went after them to take care of everything.

Hmm... It's a little pitiful, but considering how terribly the club was managed before, this much is necessary.

I put on an eye mask and earplugs to create some quiet around me. Even though this body could no longer sleep, I could still find peace of mind in a comfortable atmosphere. I was sinking into that thought when...

"...Sera..."

At the sound of someone calling me, I removed the eye mask and earplugs. My sister, who usually already looked somewhat empty, now appeared even more haggard as she woke me.

"Sera... We've arrived... Wake up now..."

Wait... We arrived? I hadn't planned to stay lying down the entire flight. Didn't that mean I'd left her to handle everything for way too long?

Only now did I understand why my sister's condition had deteriorated so badly.

Both the endlessly energetic Jaehyun and Seongjun—who was flying for the first time—must have kept asking questions and bothering her the whole way. No wonder she ended up like this.

My sister already disliked people, yet she'd endured it all because they were our teammates. I felt a sense of admiration for her patience.

After exchanging some comforting words with Kim Yohan, we stepped outside. The Shanghai airport that greeted us felt similar to our own country yet carried a subtly different atmosphere.

My sister, who had been dazed from my consolation, quickly armed me with sunglasses, a hat, and a mask as people's gazes began to gather. She also dyed her hair an even deeper black.

Really... Must we go through this every single time we go outside?

Still, this wasn't a simple outing—it was my first overseas trip in this body. The feeling wasn't entirely bad.

She said she bought tickets from the Swiss stage all the way to the finals, so we'll be staying in Shanghai where the Swiss stage is held for a while.

While our main house and headquarters were most comfortable, I'd heard Crescent owned a suitable building in China as well, so it should be fine.

As we passed through the dazzling streets of Shanghai, a particularly luxurious five-star hotel stood out among the grand buildings. Seeing the team members' expressions that seemed to ask "This can't be it, right?", my sister—whose mood had improved again—spoke up.

"Yes. This is our building."

At those words, Shin Jaehyun, Park Seongjun, and Kim Yohan gaped in astonishment. My sister, now fully recovered in spirit, called over a bellboy to send up the luggage first, then led us around like a local guide—from a famous hotpot restaurant nearby to various tourist spots.

"Coach... When exactly are we going to watch the matches...?"

Even Park Seongjun, who had started out full of energy, finally asked this after we'd been dragged around for what felt like forever.

These people really have no middle ground.

It was the first time I regretted coming all the way to China just to watch the Worlds in person.