I'm Always Proud of You
Arima muttered to himself, "Oh… Sora picked the Dark Knight…."
His real name was Ahn Hyunho. A professional Labyrinthos VR player and captain of Korea's pro team, Hwangseong Phantom Slayers (HPS), he went by the handle Arima.
"Still watching VTubers, you degenerate?"
"What's so fun about watching root tubers anyway, hyung?"
His teammates shot him looks of pity, but Arima paid them no mind. He'd been a pro gamer for over a decade—long before Labyrinthos, he'd competed in other titles. Among Labyrinthos pros, no one matched his experience. At this point, he had nothing left to prove. He was one of the faces representing Korean esports, occasionally appearing on variety shows. Few pros had achieved his level of success, yet he still couldn't quit his otaku hobbies. If anything, the money only fueled them further.
Ha… It's such a shame I can't join Fantasy League.
Arima clicked his tongue as he watched the EYEAI tournament. Hwangseong Phantom Slayers, the team he belonged to, had been the inaugural champions of Labyrinthos. They'd lost the trophy to other teams since then, but that didn't change the fact that their captain was a globally popular otaku. His handle itself came from an anime—the one where the character licks sodium bicarbonate in ten seconds flat. When an otaku gained power, he could even host a league. That was why Arima had joined forces with Kaiser to launch the Streamer League, now known as Fantasy League. While various interests had aligned to make the event possible, the real reason had always been his desire to watch VTubers up close. The league had run successfully every year, and this season's rebranding to Fantasy League showed their ambition for longevity.
If only my body were fine, I'd be the team owner by now. Tch.
Arima glanced down at his leg, encased in a cast. He'd been in a serious car accident recently. That was why the Fantasy League announcement had been delayed, forcing him to sit out several pro matches and hand the tournament over to another player. Even if it meant skipping pro games, he had wanted to personally draft his favorite VTubers for Fantasy League…! Damn this fragile human body! Graaah!!
"But what's with that team comp? Monk, Hunter, Dark Knight?"
His idle teammates leaned over his station. They might mock him for being an otaku or a root-tuber fan, but Arima's endless enthusiasm had slowly infected Hwangseong Phantom Slayers with VTuber culture. This was the power of salesmanship. When the captain hosted an otaku league, even his teammates couldn't help but take an interest.
"The Monk tanks up front, the Dark Knight drops walls, and the Hunter leaps over them to cut everything down. What else is there?"
More than that, they were professionals. They'd played Labyrinthos VR hundreds, thousands of times, yet pros had to keep finding it fresh. Even if it was just a tournament for Bronze and Silver players, it still followed tournament format. Interest piqued, the teammates gathered and began offering commentary.
"Why the Monk? There are tankier options, aren't there?"
"The Dark Knight's already there, so they're probably going for damage output instead of pure tankiness."
"Wouldn't it be better to drop the Monk and add a marksman or AoE dealer?"
"These guys only have aerial superiority. Look, they're picking Pathfinder."
Spring Team's final pick was Pathfinder. With that, they completed their composition: Beast Tamer & Marksman & Pathfinder.
"Winter's got the edge in tanking and survivability. But they can't initiate, can they?"
"If the Dark Knight drops walls well, maybe?"
"This looks rough. The Hunter's already countered by the Marksman and Pathfinder."
"Winter Team just lost the draft, didn't they?"
"At least Winter won't melt easily. Monk and Dark Knight are solid, and the cat hunter has insane escape tools."
"So what? They'll just get poked to death from range and crushed."
"Winter's bans were weird too."
The pros continued their discussion—right up until the game began.
"? What's the Dark Knight doing?"
Sora discarded her armor. She didn't question the act much—Lora did this almost every day.
"Get on."
Still, being carried by someone else felt… odd. Even in a game, riding on another person's back was psychologically embarrassing. It might be different if she were in a weakened state, but Sora was perfectly healthy. And it was her teammate's back, at that—not even someone she was particularly close with.
"Ugh…"
With a sigh, Sora climbed onto Chell's back. She wondered what the viewer chat was saying right now. Since it was a tournament match, chat was disabled to prevent stream sniping, so she couldn't see the messages. Still, it wasn't hard to imagine she was becoming a laughingstock. But what could she do? This was all for victory.
"Let's go."
Chell, who had grown slightly more comfortable speaking, said it in her usual indifferent tone. …The fact that Chell seemed completely unbothered only made Sora more embarrassed.
Regardless, the two of them left the base where the guardian god slept. The moment Chell stepped outside, she took a running start.
—Whoosh!
The sound of wind rushed past Sora's ears. When she came to her senses, she felt an intense floating sensation and realized the ground had fallen far away. They were flying—or at least, it was close enough to call it that. Chell had chosen the Hunter class for this game. Among all Labyrinthos characters, the Hunter possessed the highest jump power. Its skill, Hunter's Leap, allowed jumps of several meters in a single bound. With the right traits, it could even perform a double jump.
Carrying Sora, Chell bounded across buildings in massive leaps.
"…What are they doing?"
Someone had noticed Chell's movements—Ichika Mano, a first-generation EYEAI member.
[Ichika, did you find something?]
"The Hunter is carrying the Dark Knight and hopping around…?"
[What? Why would they do that…?]
Ichika stared in disbelief and glanced sideways. There stood the Student Council building, the tallest structure on the academy map. She drew her grappling hook from her waist.
Bang!
With a gunshot, the hook flew toward the rooftop and latched onto the railing. Ichika was currently playing Pathfinder. The class was themed around an explorer with simple skill names: Skill 1 Grappling Hook Shot, Skill 2 Hammer Strike, and Ultimate Drill!—each corresponding to a tool. The skill Ichika had used was Grappling Hook Shot. Hitting a wall, ceiling, or structure would pull her toward it. If it struck an enemy or ally, it would instead drag them toward her. In other words, it served as both a mobility tool and a grab skill.
Ichika climbed to the top of the Student Council building and observed Chell's position once more.
"Yeah. I wasn't seeing things. The Hunter really is carrying the Dark Knight while jumping."
[Is that even possible? Isn't the Dark Knight super heavy?]
"The Dark Knight's removed all her armor."
[Then it might just barely work. The Hunter would need to stack agility traits, though.]
[Is the Monk nearby?]
"I don't see the Monk anywhere."
No matter how hard she looked, only Sora and Chell were visible. Even if Inagika was lurking somewhere nearby, it probably wouldn't matter. Chell's Hunter could cross dozens of meters with each leap, and the Monk lacked the mobility to keep up.
[Got it. They're trying to backdoor, aren't they?]
Realizing something, second-generation member Tanaka Mikael clapped her hands. Second-generation member Yamaoka Gabriel asked in confusion.
[Backdoor?]
[The Monk can tank a beating for a long time. So instead of leaving Inagika alone to guard the guardian god, these two are probably trying to sneak in and take down the boss themselves.]
"That makes sense."
Ichika was convinced. The Dark Knight removing her armor meant she was prioritizing mobility—something Aurora had demonstrated multiple times. Combined with being carried by the Hunter to leap over buildings, their goal was clearly to reach the guardian god as quickly as possible. Two people could attempt to take down the guardian god. Even if they have another plan, it doesn't matter. Spring Team had three members; Winter Team had two. In a teamfight, Spring would almost certainly win. If they could eliminate those two… only Inagika would remain. What could one Inagika accomplish? So the best move for Spring Team was to quickly eliminate Sora and Chell.
"Let's chase them."
Ichika made the call, and Spring Team immediately pursued Chell and Sora. Until that moment, Ichika hadn't sensed anything amiss. She never noticed that Chell and Sora's movements were far too conspicuous for a backdoor attempt. She couldn't have. Sora was Bronze. Chell and Inagika were Silver. They were beginners, so of course their play would look sloppy.
"We're here."
"I know."
The game of tag began. Sora quickly activated Wall of Wailing. Her skill usage was somewhat clumsy. If this were a PC game, she would have used the mouse to designate the skill's range. But since it was VR, she had to rely purely on feel to determine where the wall would appear. Being carried on Chell's back made it even harder to judge the placement. …How did Lora make this difficult skill look so easy? Still, she'd practiced for the past few days. Sora managed to place walls here and there. Even that much was annoying for Spring Team. Having walls suddenly appear in their path while running was nothing short of frustrating. The open space meant they could simply go around, but that alone was a loss—a waste of time. While they detoured, Chell was carrying Sora farther away.
Left with no choice, Ichika drew her hammer.
"Hup!"
Standing on the giant wolf's head, Ichika swung her hammer at the Wall of Wailing in front of her.
CRASH!
A massive hole opened in the wall. Pathfinder's second skill, Hammer Strike, could break thin walls. The name Pathfinder wasn't for nothing. The giant wolf carrying Spring Team's three members slipped through the gap. While Mikael caught Ichika, who nearly fell off the wolf, Gabriel—the Marksman—aimed both pistols. The right gun's barrel pointed at Chell.
—Bang!
With the smell of gunpowder, the bullet flew. The moment Chell heard the shot, she used Hunter's Leap. In an instant, she soared several meters into the air. The Hunter's strength lay in its overwhelming jumping ability—a powerful tool for both offense and defense. On offense, it could bypass tanks to snipe backline healers and ranged dealers. On defense, it allowed massive retreats that made pursuit difficult. At the same time, the jump was also the Hunter's weakness. Once airborne, changing direction was impossible. In other words, the Hunter was now nothing more than a parabolic target.
Gabriel aimed his left gun.
—Bang!
The second shot. The Hunter knew their own weakness well. That was why the double-jump trait was essential. Without it, they'd be shot down mid-air by ranged attacks. So Chell had no choice but to use her double jump—and that was exactly what Spring Team had been waiting for.
Click.
The moment Ichika saw Chell activate the double jump, she aimed her grappling hook.
Bang!
The hook launched, flying straight toward Chell. And then—
—Clang!
Sora swung her arm. Chains erupted from her wrist—the Dark Knight's first skill, Soul-Binding Chains. The hook collided with the chains and bounced away. Chell safely landed on a windowsill.
"They're pretty good."
Mikael spoke with admiration.
"I was wondering why they stayed mounted. So that's what they were planning."
"They must've practiced a lot."
Sora's use of the Dark Knight and Chell's use of the Hunter both felt somewhat lacking. Their controls were decent, but the subtle awkwardness typical of beginners showed through. Even so, their coordination felt solid. The idea of Sora covering the Hunter's inevitable post-jump weakness through teamwork was clever. They had likely spent the entire preparation period polishing their synergy. EYEAI's senior VTubers didn't have much free time—some had ad deals, others were preparing events. Meanwhile, the sixth generation were still fresh rookies. The only thing they had to prepare outside of streaming was the body observation recording. Compared to their seniors, the sixth gen's strength was having more collective free time. Things were getting interesting. Spring Team's three members all thought the same.
Chell and Sora looked down at them. Spring Team's three looked back. After a brief standoff of mutual probing, the system message finally appeared.
Enemy Monk has defeated the allied Guardian God.
Enemy victory.
Spring Team had lost.
"……Huh?"
"W-We did it…."
Looking down at the guardian god's corpse sprawled on the ground, Inagika grinned from ear to ear.
"I-I've become the hero of Winter Team…!"
Staring at the word "Victory," Inagika imagined her future.
—"As expected of my dear friend, Inagika. I'm always proud of you."
—"Inagika is amazing! No, from now on, we'll call you Lady Inagika!"
—"I thought only Aurora was impressive among the sixth generation, but to think there was such talent… We seniors really should arrange a collab for you."
—"Inagika! Inagika! Inagika! Inagika!"
"Hehe…"
Inagika continued to grin.