Time to Live in the Real World
His mechanics are definitely at slaughter level, but who the hell is his main? I saw him pop up on a VTuber stream too. He plays the Dark Knight like an absolute monster. But aren't there literally no artisans in the pro scene who can handle a Dark Knight at that level?
I've been maining the Labyrinth for three whole years, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone use wall movement like that on a Dark Knight.
— Touch mine too ♡
ㄴ (OP) Get out of here
— Are there even any Dark Knight artisans in the first place?
ㄴ It's a tank with no dash and no CC, total trash character so nobody plays it
ㄴ If you use the walls well it's worth one person, if not it's worth half
ㄴ But isn't the ultimate pretty high value?
ㄴ In the pro scene ultimates get countered so nobody uses it anymore
ㄴ The passive not distinguishing between allies and enemies is just too big of a drawback
I don't know if he has a separate main or not, but he's got zero manners. And then there are the idiots who slowly start sucking up to him anyway? I don't give a single shit whether he hit rank one in some other game. If you're gonna simp for this retard, take it to your own gallery ^^
— For real, why the hell does he use limb severance?
— You'd think he debuted in the pro scene or something lololol
ㄴ But I heard he got a pro offer
ㄴ (OP) What does getting a pro offer in another game have to do with this, you idiot
ㄴ Isn't the pro offer just a rumor anyway?
ㄴ So you're saying it's okay to be a bad mannered piece of shit if you got a pro offer?
ㄴ This is exactly the kind of trash that simps for him...
"I'm here, Manager."
The sudden voice made Lee Jung-woo look up.
"You're early. Please, have a seat."
As he spoke, Lee Jung-woo quickly slipped his phone back into his pocket. He straightened his posture and faced her directly. Every time he did, he couldn't help thinking that this person really didn't seem suited for being a VTuber.
The biggest difference between VTubers and regular streamers was, of course, appearance. VTubers hid their real faces behind models and only showed their character. It was a profession often chosen by people who lacked confidence in their looks. Of course, the woman in front of him wasn't beautiful enough to be an idol or anything, but at the very least, it was clear she hadn't chosen VTubing because of her appearance.
"I heard from the boss. You want to retire, Miss Rion?"
"...Yes."
Rion nodded at his words.
"If you don't want to do it, there's nothing we can do. Still, office work isn't exactly easy either. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"It'll be better than being a VTuber."
"Really? In what way?"
"The income is more stable, isn't it?"
At that, Lee Jung-woo could only let out a bitter laugh. He had no counterargument. To exaggerate a little, if you lasted three years in this industry you were already a veteran. Put another way, being a VTuber was a job where even your future three years from now was uncertain. And that was being generous. There were plenty of VTubers who retired before even reaching a full year of activity.
A major agency VTuber with five hundred thousand subscribers could retire at any moment. That was just how this industry worked.
"I watched the edited video you sent. Your skills are quite good."
"Thank you..."
"However, I'd like you to work as a manager rather than on the video side, Miss Rion."
"...A manager?"
Rion blinked at the unexpected word.
"Yes. Having more in-house video editors would be convenient, but if we really need to, we can always outsource editing. The problem right now is that we're short on managers."
"Is that so?"
"We desperately need them... We're bringing in new blood right now."
New blood meant new VTubers. VTuber agencies recruited new talent on a regular basis. There were many reasons, but ultimately it was to increase the company's brand value. No matter how talented a VTuber was, there was a limit to the content one person could produce alone.
In this world there were VTubers who were good at games, VTubers who were good at singing, VTubers who were good at talking, and others who excelled at ASMR, drawing, or planning. Every VTuber had their own specialty. And naturally, each had their own audience.
Therefore, gathering as many different VTubers as possible was the same as securing a diverse viewer base. It was like how most companies developed a wide variety of products to attract as many customers as possible. The only difference was that the products here were living beings called VTubers.
"Is it confirmed?"
"Yes. It's confirmed that new juniors will be joining. The process is already underway. If you stayed as a VTuber, Miss Rion, you'd be treated as their senior. Are you sure you don't want to continue?"
"...No thanks. I've already made up my mind."
She really was stubborn... He'd have to talk to her slowly about this later. There was still some time left on her contract, so there was still a while before Rion's official retirement.
"So does that mean I won't be doing any video editing at all?"
"Of course you'll have to do both video editing and manager work. We're a small company, after all."
"...Aren't you working people a little too hard?"
"This situation is actually unusual. I've seen plenty of VTuber retirements, but this is the first time we've had someone switch to office work."
And it made sense. Most VTubers didn't have proper academic backgrounds, so there were no cases of them transitioning into office positions. In that sense, Rion was special. She had a proper degree in video editing, had built up trust while working as a VTuber for the company, and even had actual VTubing experience. He was secretly hoping that experience would translate into excellent work performance.
In any case, it would be a waste to keep her only as a video editor.
"We'll discuss the details slowly while we wrap up your VTuber duties, Miss Rion."
Lee Jung-woo discussed a few future matters with Rion, and by the time their conversation was roughly finished, Rion stood up from her seat.
"Oh, right. The person who appeared in the edited video you made, Miss Rion, is she your friend?"
"Pardon? That's..."
They had agreed not to talk about Aurora's personal information. As she hesitated, Lee Jung-woo threw out another question.
"It's been a bit of a hot topic on community sites. How exactly did you meet that person, Miss Rion?"
Gate Attack Mode playtime has exceeded 5 hours in real time.
For the adventurer's health, you will be automatically logged out for 3 hours of real time.
"......? What the?"
Suddenly being logged out left me momentarily dazed.
"Huh...? Does Gate Attack Mode have a different time flow?"
Since Gate Attack Mode was played across five rounds, the playtime was inevitably long. And in this day and age, time was a precious resource. That was why Gate Attack Mode was said to have a different time flow compared to Single Combat mode.
When I looked it up, one minute in reality was a full five minutes inside Gate Attack Mode. In other words, time flowed five times faster. It was a technology only possible in a virtual reality world. I never thought they'd actually implement something like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
However, this 'time acceleration' system had one problem: it could negatively affect users' brains. That was why the law strictly regulated the usage time of the time acceleration system.
In the case of Labyrinthos, using Gate Attack Mode for 25 hours of in-game time (5 hours in reality) would automatically log you out.
"I'm completely fine, though."
My body was so robust that I didn't feel any fatigue at all. Honestly, I felt like I could keep going for fifty hours without issue. But if the law said so, there was nothing I could do.
I sat down on the bed with nothing better to do.
Nothing to do.
One of the special traits of being unemployed was that even though it seemed like you'd just play games all day, there were actually more times when you had nothing to do. It wasn't that easy to fill twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year with nothing but games. Whether it was stamina or money, something always ran out. Of course I had no problems with either, but instead my content burned out extremely quickly.
So after finishing one game, there were quite a few times when I ended up feeling this empty.
"Do I have to wait three hours...? Or should I look for a new game?"
Even though I thought that, I didn't really feel motivated. Now that I'd tasted the real flavor of VR games, I wasn't in the mood for PC or mobile games. Fighting through a monitor just didn't have the same appeal anymore. The vivid realism unique to VR that felt like actual situations had raised my stimulation threshold.
I thought about looking for a new VR game, but the VR capsule wouldn't even turn on. It seemed that after using five hours of time acceleration, the VR device itself refused to start.
...Then what was I supposed to do now?
With no other choice, I lay down on the bed and started reading a web novel. About an hour passed like that.
My phone rang. It was Rion.
[Hello, sis?]
[Hey, sis. You wouldn't happen to be interested in teaching someone else how to play the game, would you?]
......?
What was this about all of a sudden?