Chapter 3

Since life has become a virtual reality, my options for leisure have become exceedingly limited.

I’m completely over games and choose to pass on them; movies and other forms of entertainment require payment, so I pass on those too. In the end, the only choices left were VTube or internet communities, which were far from my tastes.

The first reason was that I couldn’t easily empathize with their culture, and the second was that seeing negative comments about me occasionally would ruin my mood for the day.

However, today was one of those days when I just didn’t want to work at all.

Is this the power of money?

The temporal leisure provided by capital has made my body, no, my mind lazy, and I started surfing through the ocean of information, buried in my bed without anything to enjoy.

Even though I usually don’t watch the game category on VTube, the third video of the “Documentary 4 Days” aired yesterday popped up in the recommendation algorithm.

In less than 12 hours, the view count was projected to exceed 4 million.

Since I had already watched the general content yesterday, I figured there was no point in clicking; it was guaranteed to be filled with hateful comments about me…

Ultimately, the video I chose was Brahms’ Ballade for Piano, which I had previously added to my interests. It resembled music my mentor used to enjoy, which I liked.

I played the song and closed my eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come.

Was it due to the fear of possibly dying after falling asleep like this?

Or was it because of the habits I had solidified over six years? Napping was difficult.

I wanted to forget the bad memories of yesterday with beautiful melodies, but that damned Documentary 4 Days kept coming to mind. It wasn’t because I was worried about being banned.

Since I was using it illegally without any identity registration to begin with, it wouldn’t be a problem to get banned; I could just find another way in…

It was a hassle, so I tried to avoid it as much as possible…

4 million…

That’s a number greater than the population of many cities.

Is there no prince in this group of 4 million who could save me from this wretched prison?

Just as it is human nature to seek even the tiniest glimmer of hope in despair, despite having tasted despair countless times, I was foolishly sending out SOS requests again.

I just realized again that humans are far more indifferent to others than one may think.

What a tragic fate.

I have never been able to escape from the plight of a caged bird.

In my past life, I couldn’t withstand the power struggles of imperial nobles, shackled by the immense chain known as royalty.

If I were given life one more time, was it such a terrible mistake to wish to live freely in an unknown place where no one could reach me?

Was it because I didn’t want to be touched by others that I was physically trapped somewhere?

In this way, I can’t help but resent the divine.

Yet I don’t even have the courage to commit suicide in this manner.

I have already died twice; I could argue about what that means, but I have a strong intuition that this life is my very last one.

There was a basis for it. When I was born, I had a Mongolian spot on each hand, but one vanished in my past life, and this time, there was not a trace to be found.

If that spot signifies my lifespan, this must be my last chance.

My body is now gradually signaling to me that it’s reaching its limit.

Once I wake from the capsule, the energy consumption is too great, so I haven’t paid any attention to my body for nearly a year. The physical reactions from the outside were enough to transmit through to the inside without filtration.

For weeks now, my hands and feet have started to tingle, and sometimes, I experience chills or cold sweats.

After completing a tight schedule, when I fall asleep, I sometimes feel an unsettling sensation as if a centipede is crawling all over me.

Especially when that centipede seems to bite me, I was so startled that I screamed.

Of course, there was nothing like a centipede under the blanket.

There’s no way my body can remain healthy when I’m not obtaining nutrients through normal means. Just living until now is nothing short of a miracle.

The music is slowly coming to an end.

Rest was sweet, but I can’t bear the ensuing silence and emptiness.

Above all, there are too many centipedes in my room.

So today, I had no choice but to head off to a battlefield without any centipedes.

However, today seemed to be particularly unlucky.

[Normal – Collect 10 Mysterious Murals (0/10)]

[Legend – Achieve 15 kills within 30 minutes (0/15)]

[Myth – Achieve double ace twice (0/2)]

“This is too demanding…”

Seeing these absurd missions that sporadically come up makes me want to runaway from the game.

But based on nearly six years of experience, it’s more efficient to clear each match with my best effort instead of choosing missions just to quit the game and switch to another.

There’s no guarantee that such absurd situations won’t appear in the next game either.

I needed to take pictures of murals while also pursuing kill missions. Even worse, the double ace, which boasted extreme difficulty, required all members of both teams to die in a single fight—twice.

The most orthodox strategy is to hoard resources alone, making it impossible for allies to grow while ensuring that none of the enemy team has anyone particularly strong. Of course, it’s absurd to expect to orchestrate such a game intentionally.

I contemplated the randomly assigned position.

If I play as a mid-laner, the influence would be significant, but completing the mural mission becomes relatively difficult. It goes without saying for the other lanes, so changing my spell without hesitation seems to be the wise choice.

—

“Smite Solidification?”

There’s no way, right…?

When the ally mid-laner changed his spell to Smite, Semin instinctively perked up.

Today, I planned to play my usual jungle Rammus, but at this rate, the team would have two junglers.

‘Does this mean he wants to jungle?’

Even after Semin changed her spell to Ignite, he still remained silent, which made it seem like he wanted to jungle.

Looking at the pick of the soul reaper, Barugo, the spell seemed unreliable, but he didn’t seem like a troll either.

Given that the game had been around for a long time, it was only natural for players who had thrown etiquette to show up frequently. I, as the gentleman, should yield.

In the end, every match was precious to Semin, leading her to change her character.

[Welcome to the battlefield.]

The weather was slightly cloudy with a northwesterly wind, and the morning sunlight filtered in.

The nicknames of the allies and enemies, previously blinded, were inscribed on the stone of honor, announcing the start of the game.

[Don’t cry mumu]

[Trying hard without getting angry]

[NoName]

[Hits once, hits twice]

[The cheetah is crying]

And Semin felt like crying too.

[Trying hard without getting angry: Oh no, I’ve run into this troll again.]

[Trying hard without getting angry: I lost my promotion match yesterday because of him; is it real that I’m getting matched with him again in this segment?]

[The cheetah is crying: The king of the bottom lane has arrived!]

[Don’t cry mumu: It hasn’t even been a month since season 10 started, and already there are 600 matches on my record.]

“Why in the world am I in the same tier as NoName?”

Semin knew that she wasn’t good at League of Legends.

But she was proud that she gave her all in her position like no one else. Yet, to have that effort belittled by being in the same category as such trolls.

A shade appeared in Semin’s eyes.

This was the reality of the lower tiers and their often worse situations than this. It was a flavor and fragrance that were all too familiar to her.

Even in a match that seemed destined for loss, sometimes putting forth her best effort could lead to an unexpected victory.

She put all her strength into slamming the staff onto the ground.

[Don’t cry mumu: It seems like the enemy mid-laner is a smurfing duo with a jungle teammate, huh?]

The staff wobbled and fell over helplessly.

—

1Hits once, hits twice found her upper body awful. Just when she had found a satisfactory supporter, the top and mid were in chaos again.

It was funny that a marksman responsible for carrying in the late game was going to support the mid lane, but now it was making the allies who spat it out unbearable!

[The cheetah is crying: Aren’t you going to your ruined lane, marksman?]

[Trying hard without getting angry: Sorry, I usually jungle, so I’ll do my best to endure.]

[Don’t cry mumu: 4:0]

[Don’t cry mumu: If the enemy ganks come one more time, I’ll throw the game.]

In a 3v2 skirmish, all three allies died in a disaster, and their morale fell entirely. The mid-laner seemed to know this, pacifying the situation with good grace.

1Hits once, hits twice was relieved to know that at least someone recognized who was doing best in this team. After all, in the late game, it all boiled down to the marksman fights. Reassuring herself, she intentionally ignored the kill score.

[PerfectNature (Jared): 4/1/7]

[PerfectNumber (Kaina): 3/0/4]

However, the monsters dwelling in the upper body did not even allow the struggling lower-tier players a chance to make an effort.

They killed in the lane, and if you teleported in, they would dive and kill you too. Now they pursued relentlessly even in the lumbering way to the fortress.

[The cheetah is crying: We probably can’t win, shall we just surrender?]

[The cheetah is crying has initiated a surrender vote.]

The third column fills in quickly.

Semin could already tell who other than herself might disagree with the surrender in the already shattered team unity. It was the ‘NoName’ with a name she could hardly stand to look at.

For some strange reason, ‘NoName’ seemed to be taking the game seriously this time, boasting a decent kill score of 2/0/0. Both of those kills were made in the bottom lane.

But the troll nature hadn’t gone anywhere, sometimes appearing out of nowhere on the opposite side and mindlessly accumulating resource scores without contributing to the team’s victory.

Even in bronze or silver, she understood how despairing the situation was. It was already fifteen minutes in, and the gold difference was about 5000 to 7000.

Semin, who usually didn’t surrender often, agreed to the surrender vote.

However, despite waiting until the vote ended, unanimity was never reached.

[The cheetah is crying: We have to wait until 20 minutes for this.]

In five minutes, it could end with just four votes.

Doing anything for five minutes wouldn’t change the situation, so everyone started moving sluggishly.

Feeling that mood, the ally jungler ‘NoName’ sent the first ping.

[Gather here]

The second guardian’s nest.

Normally, top, jungle, and occasionally mid would all converge for a small skirmish, but today it was unusual that both the enemy and allies were gathering.

This was a situation not often seen outside of solo rank in the high tiers.

‘Is someone giving orders over there?’

At this rate, there would surely be a 5v5 team fight.

Semin, lacking in physical skill, even purchased a stopwatch she usually couldn’t afford to prepare herself.

The marksman items were two cores to one core.

But the opposing mid-jungle team seemed to be looking at three cores.

‘The jungle level is even two levels behind. Even if it’s a smite fight, we’re bound to lose.’

Her mind was becoming increasingly complicated.

However, they had already arrived at the guardian’s nest.

The enemy had already taken a cover and were in a standoff. If they took even one step further, countless skills would pour out, leading to a battle.

Next to her, NoName was lying in wait in the bushes.

Even in this suffocating confrontation, his eyes were steadily calm.

Realizing that the enemy team noticed there was no intention to move from their side, they began to capture the guardian. If the second guardian also fell to the enemies, the game would be unrecoverable.

However, if she moved to interfere, they were obviously prepared for ambush.

In this tense moment, NoName’s Barugo sprang out first.

The enemy seemed to have been waiting for just that moment as all five emerged from the guardian’s nest and unleashed their assault on Barugo.

“Danger!”

While Semin hesitated, the top-laner mumu and marksman 2Hits joined the skirmish. In the battlefield, distinguishing which skill was which became nearly impossible.

Semin thought coolly.

Her goal was to assassinate the enemy marksman. But where was he?

There had been five when emerging from the nest, and yet only four were visible. So where?

“Hahahahahaha”

With that enchanting female voice coming from the side, hundreds of bullets rained down.

[You have been slain]

[You have been slain]

“A… no way…”

The enemy marksman’s ultimate had landed so beautifully.

Even starting off by killing the enemy marksman was insufficient, yet she was already down to half health. Jared and Kaina, who had grown well, easily finished the job.

The only silver lining was that ‘The cheetah is crying,’ who had played a grab champion like Blitz, managed to hook the enemy marksman during his ultimate. This allowed NoName and 2Hits to secure a kill in return.

[You have slain an enemy]

“Oh right, the stopwatch!”

In the end, Semin failed to buy herself a turn with the stopwatch during this team fight. Why did her vision collapse only during team fights…

There was no hope. Even if Jared and Kaina’s ultimates had been used, they had grown beyond expectations, and their basic attacks were still quite considerable.

Ultimately, thanks to the enemy support sacrificing themselves as a decoy, 2Hits couldn’t escape death either.

“Seriously, how could they all uniformly take the enemy’s Miss Fortune’s ultimate like that!”

As she was summoned back to the respawn waiting room, her frustration boiled over. Not even getting to experience a proper team fight before dying left her feeling especially regretful.

Soon Barugo would join them here. Mumu would surely have a lot to say to him. But contrary to expectations, the news of defeat did not come.

No one could silence themselves while watching the unfolding battle on the battlefield monitor.

“What is that?”

The start began with Mumu’s single word.

As soon as 2Hits died, Barugo flew over the wall and instantly eliminated the enemy top who was poking from a distance with barrels alongside Miss Fortune. As soon as he stole Miss Fortune’s soul, he promptly launched a series of skills while repositioning himself to land all Barugo’s abilities in order.

[Triple Kill]

Kaina hurriedly attempted to stop it with a stun, but Barugo’s unique skill allowed him to release hard CC while stealing back his soul.

Detonating two barrels that were placed at the edge resulted in simultaneous hits on Jared and Kaina.

However, even after absorbing the soul and recovering health, he remained at half.

Just a few of Jared’s shurikens would be enough to take him out.

Through shadow clones, Barugo threw three shurikens from angles that Jared couldn’t escape, forcing him into a situation where he wouldn’t escape regardless of his next move. He evaded the next coming stun with vertical movements as a bonus.

[Quadra Kill]

Jared had just used his shadow clone, so he had no mobility spells left. But the reason he could still smile in the end was…

“Oh boy, would you look at that, my ultimate is back up?”

The ultimate ability of Jared, which would unmistakably deal damage.

There was no need to hit with shurikens; just a basic strike would put him at a dangerously low health level.

Having calculated that, Jared left a mark of death on Barugo without a shred of hesitation.

But immediately following, Kaina’s bush ultimate hit. In an instant, his normal strike was interrupted, and though Jared attempted to throw a shuriken, Kaina’s short mobility evaded it.

That turned the turn.

“No! Even Ignite!”

In the last moment, dramatically, the spell returned, and flames were thrown upon Barugo.

[Penta Kill!]

Yet leveled up.

And the victory announcement followed.

Barugo, with increased health, dramatically survived and emerged as the last victor.

‘What am I even watching?’

In the scene like a mad movie, Semin was left speechless.

“NoName absolutely dominated, right? But all of this couldn’t have happened without my grab, right?”

“Guess the jungle was the only person.”

Others shared the same sentiment.

“Wait, what is she doing?”

As the battle that felt eternal finally ended, Barugo staggered about.

Suddenly, the neutral monster Baron appeared in his sight, summoning after twenty minutes.

Flickering

The eerie showdown between Baron and Barugo.

With a voice unheard by anyone, NoName flatly retorted.

“What are you looking at? Look down.”

The enormous dragon’s breath charged at Barugo.

[You have been slain.]

[Double Ace]