No Introductions, Just a Beatdown
That's truly a surprising fact!
…….
The current time was 9:29. Rion was tense. It was a strange thing. She had watched countless VTuber streams before, but this was the first time she had ever felt nervous. It made sense, really. They were always someone else's broadcasts. Yet here she was, more anxious than if she were the one streaming herself.
Please let Sister Lora succeed. Please let everyone accept her.
Only then...
"Only then can I quit…."
Rion repeated the words to herself like a mantra. One minute passed, and the clock struck 9:30. The Labyrinthos screen appeared before her eyes.
Judging from the chat's reaction, Rion wasn't the only one greeted by the Labyrinthos screen. She wondered if she had clicked on the wrong channel, but there in the bottom-right corner was an avatar that looked exactly like Lora. Hair as dark as the night sky. Eyes a far deeper, more vivid red than anything in reality. They burned with intense, blood-like crimson. The black gothic dress was ornate yet carried an ominous aura that somehow made it even more beautiful. Against her pure white skin, the sight felt almost unreal. It was like looking at a transcendent being.
The avatar of Aurora on screen smiled sweetly and spoke.
Without missing a beat, she picked Berserker. The queue had already been locked in before the stream even started.
"What the…"
Rion, who had been lying in bed watching on her phone, shot upright. She moved faster than she ever had in her life, dropping into her chair and slamming her hands onto the keyboard.
She had sent what basically amounted to a troll comment, but Rion felt zero regret. This was exactly why she had logged into her alternate account on iTube beforehand. Perhaps her sincere feelings had reached Aurora, because the VTuber spoke again, her voice laced with amusement.
A profile window appeared on Aurora's stream. However, it had been shrunk down to the size of a palm and tucked away in the upper-left corner so it wouldn't block the gameplay.
Whether the chat liked it or not, Lora focused entirely on the game. Rion let out a long sigh.
…She had a pretty good idea what her cousin was thinking.
She probably believes showing her true self is the most important thing.
Rion had experienced Lora's narcissism longer than anyone. Lora clearly believed that no matter what content she put out, the viewers would love it. Therefore, there was no need to consider the audience. She would simply broadcast whatever she wanted, and the viewers would naturally follow along. That was the kind of VTuber Lora had always been.
Rion believed there were two types of VTubers. The type that 'plans fun broadcasts in advance' and the type that thinks 'broadcasting as myself is the most fun.' Hanabane Rui belonged to the former. Lora was the complete opposite.
…Well, it wasn't as if Lora acting however she pleased was anything new. The viewers didn't seem particularly upset, so Rion decided to just let it go.
That aside...
"Why Berserker?"
Rion finally voiced the question that had been bothering her. The character's skin had a bluish tint from countless experiments. Wolf blood had been injected into it, resulting in wolf ears sprouting from its head and eyes that were bloodshot crimson. Given its setting as a test subject kept in confinement, broken chains dangled from manacles around its wrists and ankles. But what drew the most attention was the weapon in its hands. It was far larger than the greatswords used by paladins or gladiators, radiating an overwhelming presence. It was the 'massive blade' that served as the Berserker's trademark.
And with that, the moment the game started, Lora discarded the massive blade.
……?
Having thrown away the massive blade, Lora immediately charged forward. The movement gave Rion a powerful sense of déjà vu.
…Ah, she got it now. This person was trying to expand her character pool.
Come to think of it, she did mention that her Dark Knight keeps getting banned lately.
Recently, it seemed Lora had become recognized as a Dark Knight specialist. Looking at her recent match history, she had been playing Magic Engineer quite often as well. But Lora probably didn't enjoy the Magic Engineer much. After all, it was the complete opposite of her personality.
While Anna felt fear when facing enemies, Lora was the type who enjoyed that very thrill. That was why Anna and the Magic Engineer were a good match, but for Lora, the class probably lacked the satisfying feedback she craved. Despite how prim and elegant she appeared, her cousin was a violent person at heart. Perhaps that ferocity was Aurora's true nature.
So that's why she chose Berserker.
Rion quietly nodded in understanding.
Lora's voice rang out. Rion snapped back to attention and looked at the screen again. On the opposite side stood a dual-wielder. Perhaps he had been hunting neutral monsters, because their corpses lay scattered at his feet.
Their eyes met. Then they both charged.
From the dual-wielder's perspective, there was no reason to refuse this fight. His opponent was a Berserker without a weapon. Obviously, a sword was longer than a fist. The dual-wielder held the range advantage and therefore had the initiative to strike first. His blades drew large arcs as they flew in from both sides, as if going for a hug. It wasn't exactly refined swordsmanship, but it didn't matter. His opponent was bare-handed. How could she possibly dodge this?
Which was why Lora didn't even try.
THUD!
Lora swung her fist downward. The sword path crumpled. The dual-wielder's exaggerated stance made his timing easy to read. When Lora struck the flat of the blade at just the right angle, the edge never reached her body. She immediately exploited the opening that created.
The startled dual-wielder used a skill to escape. It was the Enemy Camp Breakthrough, a move infamous for being something only elementary school kids would use. He tried to create distance, but Lora simply smiled that signature smile of hers and activated her own skill.
Ruinous Charge
Berserkers were high-risk, high-reward characters. Their skills consumed HP and had difficult activation conditions. In exchange, landing them granted powerful returns. If you could land them, that is.
Ruinous Charge was the Berserker's dash skill with no range limit. However, once activated, it could not be stopped. Changing direction was impossible. The only way to end the charge was by colliding with something. If it hit a wall or object, the Berserker would be stunned. On the other hand, if it connected with an enemy, it guaranteed a long stun duration, and the user gained immunity to all crowd control effects during the charge.
Lora, having activated Ruinous Charge, barreled toward the dual-wielder. Naturally, he had no reason to let it hit him. If he could dodge it, Lora would slam into a wall and he would gain the advantage.
Her movement speed was high, but because the dual-wielder had retreated first, there was still distance between them. He watched her skill animation and immediately tried to evade. Twisting his body at the last possible moment, he avoided her tackle by a hair's breadth.
And then he was caught.
GRAB!
The tips of Lora's outstretched fingers during the charge had caught his collar.
Lora's brief commentary. She gripped his collar tightly and yanked him forward. The dual-wielder froze at the unexpected development. Lora used that moment to throw him.
BOOM!
A Berserker's strength was monstrous enough to swing that massive blade. The dual-wielder's body flew through the air and slammed into the wall. Before he could regain his balance, Lora's shoulder bash drove straight into his solar plexus.
CRACK!
He let out a choked gasp as the air was forced from his lungs. Stuck in a stun, he couldn't move a muscle as Lora drove her fist into his cheekbone.
POW! CRUNCH! THUD! THUD! THUD!
CRACK!
She beat him relentlessly. There wasn't a shred of mercy in that barrage of fists. Only when the word 'Victory' appeared did Lora finally stop punching.
She shook her blood-stained fist as she spoke.
Hmm…
The chat flew by at blinding speed. The process had been a little strange, but… this was fine, right? A VTuber who beat people up from her very debut stream sounded a bit odd when put into words, but it certainly had impact. Besides, it was just a game. The stronger the impression, the better. In that sense, this strategy wasn't bad at all.
Sister really did put some thought into this.
When she had ignored the profile introduction and jumped straight into the game, Rion had been worried, but judging from the viewers and the gallery reactions, this seemed to be working. Relieved, Rion crossed her arms.
On screen, Lora let out a light laugh and queued up for the next match.
…….
"…Has this woman lost her mind?"
"Ugh… I can't even send a donation message…!!"
She desperately wanted to send a donation with a message to draw attention, but unfortunately the donation window was closed. Corporate VTubers couldn't monetize their channels freely, after all. Damn it…
In the end, Rion logged in with her main account.
The moment Lora reacted, Rion typed again.
It took Rion a moment to understand what she meant. In other words, to show the viewers the hashtags and schedule, she would need to overlay an image on the stream. Lora was saying she didn't want the game screen to be obscured like that.
"Agh! I can't live like this!"
Rion shot up from her chair.