Chapter 362

A large eel completely covered the white rice.

As I pierced the flesh with chopsticks, fragrant steam rose.

I stuffed my mouth full of pieces coated with brown sauce.

Along with a bite of steamed egg and a sip of bonito broth, is this heaven?

“It’s delicious…!”

My one remark made the family burst into laughter.

Ban So Wol’s father, Consul Ban Il Gwon, pushed a bowl of stir-fried burdock and seasoned pollock roe toward me.

I don’t eat vegetables, but I should at least take a chopstick’s worth out of courtesy.

“Burning calories to gain strength, wow, I thought you were a descendant of Genghis Khan! But is there really enough calorie to burn with that tiny body? Isn’t our So Wol too weak?”

“What are you talking about? I’m the strongest in our department.”

“Ah, the boys probably went easy on you because you’re a girl.”

“Shall we have a match here, Dad?”

“Sure. Honey, can you bring the hammer from my room?”

Ban So Wol also put down her chopsticks and rolled up her sleeves.

Her mother shouted, waving a rice-coated spatula.

“Please, now that you’re adults, both of you need to grow up!”

“That’s why I got into Korea University’s Philosophy Department.”

“Honey, I also tried to be mature by having fresh sturgeon with my subordinates yesterday during a company dinner.”

“Ah, should I just stop talking? If you lack energy, I’ll give you more, so eat a lot, okay?”

It wasn’t completely normal here, but as long as we were harmonious, wasn’t that what mattered?

While we had dinner, Uncle Ban Il Gwon was alone, spinning a pen and contemplating what to write in the recommendation letter.

“Master Kim Woong wrote, ‘Unique in the nation,’ and Master Park Tae Seok wrote, ‘I support your youth,’ but the content doesn’t seem to matter much, right?”

“No. It’s just because I turned out to be the youngest.”

“The youngest?”

“The wording of the recommendation letter is typically written by the person with the lowest rank among the five… No, it’s supposed to be managed by the one who’s less experienced. I’m not inferior in rank, but I’m curious where they found that many seniors. I’ll think about it more and write it by tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“Yes, I’d appreciate it.”

“Since we’ve come this far, eat a lot of delicious food and have fun. If anything is uncomfortable, just tell So Wol.”

After finishing dinner, I washed my face quickly, brushed my teeth, and changed into my pajamas.

I wore a headband to keep my hair back and moved to Ban So Wol’s bedroom.

“No bed?”

“Is Na Me a fan of beds? If it’s uncomfortable, should I bring a mattress?”

“No, I don’t mind. Sleeping on the floor is comfortable too.”

I’ve slept on stone floors before, so this plush bedding is quite nice.

While Ban So Wol brought me my pillow and blanket, I called Professor Chun for a video call to check in.

I wasn’t sure if my anger had subsided or if I’d just given up, but the atmosphere seemed not bad at all.

When the call ended, Ban So Wol applied a cold liquid to my cheeks.

“Hmm? What is this?”

“Aloe moisture cream. We need to protect precious baby skin for a long time.”

As I received the facial massage, I realized how much fatigue had accumulated in the soles of my feet.

It only took 18 hours to get from home to Fukuoka, passing through Gangwon Province and Busan.

‘Have I ever enjoyed the conveniences of civilization as much as today?’

I lay down but couldn’t fall asleep right away.

It was still a bit early compared to my usual sleeping time.

“Feeling bored? Do you want to watch some VTuber content?”

“Huh? Then what about you, Unni?”

“I’ll go into virtual reality to watch. I’ll set up a beam projector on the ceiling, so just lie down comfortably, Na Me.”

I’d always been in the position of a creator making VTuber content; it was rare for me to consume it.

Ban So Wol entered the capsule and showed her holographic figure in virtual reality.

“Have you seen the national exchange competition?”

“I only watched the finals last year and the matches with Emika. I don’t know anything else except that it’s individual matches.”

“I heard this year 64 participants from 41 countries are taking part. Every match is a single elimination tournament, so just winning six times secures the championship. Oh, the teaser is out too.”

We followed the VTuber algorithm and watched various videos.

Famous singers performed a theme song, showcasing each athlete’s aspirations and fan support, etc.

Promising talents heavily backed by clans seemed to have personal channels where they posted documentaries and training videos.

Emika was, of course, no exception.

A girl in a white uniform wielding a lightsaber, simply swinging it, easily surpassed 50 million views in just a week.

‘Why is this so popular?’

Moreover, the official channel for the national exchange competition compiled highlights from videos submitted by participants.

It seemed like they were trying to stir up competition even before the tournament began.

[#11 Emika Katsuhata. She is a very strong candidate for victory in this national exchange competition. Equipped with the powerful 3-circle double casting and having recently succeeded in an external manifestation, she has become a participant with no apparent weaknesses. Remember, once the sword of Katsuhata is stained red, victory will swiftly shift to one side. I trust that side is not yours.]

With somewhat cringeworthy lines, Emika’s duel scenes sparkled brilliantly.

All the comments were overwhelmingly positive.

[Best Comment]

– (07:39) No longer can one find tedious training under a waterfall in Japan. Katsuhata has absorbed all contemporary combat theories and is so versatile that she can’t be pinned down by the advantages of magic or aura. [Likes: 6.4K]

└ A hardworking genius is terrifying.

└ Truly an unstoppable force!

└ Emika, who lost to some obscure Hungarian, is a candidate for victory?

└ Last year, Katsuhata was just 14 years old. A two-year age gap is huge for kids.

└ Excluding her mentality, she has perfect hexagon stats.

– (08:01): This is a scene that my great-grandfather really enjoyed. Was The Last Jedi made by a Japanese? [Likes: 2.1K]

└ Hahaha, my grandmother said the same thing.

└ Wow, you know Star Wars!

– (08:23) A perfect sword technique that wouldn’t shame a textbook. Watching her perform the opposition with mere external manifestation, I believe she deserves to enter the realm of legends. [Likes: 8.7K]

I scrolled through the comments and watched the video attentively from the beginning.

It was the scene where Emika, whose sword had snapped in two, instantly created a lightsaber to evade the deadly strike.

This part received enthusiastic applause from many viewers.

“Hmmm…”

Something didn’t sit right with me.

As I paused the video, Ban So Wol immediately asked for the reason.

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s this part. At 8 minutes and 24-25 seconds. The downward vertical strike is called Shaitelhau, but there’s no need to shift weight backward here. Ah, it’s hard to explain in words. Is there something I can use to demonstrate?”

There was nothing suitable to substitute for a sword.

I tried my best to explain why Emika’s posture was problematic.

“Every attack has a corresponding defense, and there exists an attack that can be executed the fastest from a defensive posture. From Emika’s stance, it seems she slowed her tempo to prepare for the opponent’s read, meaning the initial sword’s weight has changed, so the opponent wouldn’t be quick enough.”

That doesn’t mean it’s a bad stance.

If we were to think of it in terms of chess, it’s like missing the opportunity to checkmate within four moves.

“Even if the opponent is exceptionally cautious and doesn’t commit all their strength on the first move, if you angle the sword like this, the lightsaber will arrive at the neck first, right?”

“I don’t quite understand, but sure.”

“If, for some reason, Emika knew she would summon the lightsaber, by then the sword would have already descended solo. Her open stance should be seen as a deliberate attempt to expose her sword for a trap… but then, if timed correctly, she could drop the sword downward, leading to the opponent’s upper body being exposed for self-destruction.”

“Oooh…! I don’t understand at all.”

“Anyway, that’s the theory. If we want to nitpick further, we could also find points about controlling the external manifestation locally.”

“Na Me, you’re so cool, wheee…”

If they just wanted to showcase the moment swords met to create an impactful visual, I wouldn’t have any complaints.

However, this was too fluid and natural for Emika’s reaction to be acting.

Even if I told Emika this now, it wouldn’t be corrected in a day or two.

I decided it was better to quietly leave a comment on VTuber rather than stir my mind before the tournament.

– Private: (08:25) If this action wasn’t done intentionally, it seems like an area that needs improvement. Given the shoulder rotation speed and stride length, it was clear that it was not a painted attack, yet Emika Katsuhata made a minor error… (Read More)

“Yawn, I’m tired… what time is it now?”

After finishing the comment and looking at the clock, it was already two in the morning.

‘Is it really already two o’clock?’

As I yawned, my mouth involuntarily closed.

It seemed Ban So Wol had already fallen asleep in her capsule.

I switched the capsule to sleep mode and turned off all the internal lights.

I didn’t resist the steadily growing heaviness of my eyelids.

With the gentle breeze from the fan, the fluffy blanket, and reflecting on the day’s journey of over 1000 km, I sank into a deeper sleep than ever.

And the next morning.

The comment I had written was attacked by numerous downvotes, with over 300 replies flooding it.

* * *

[Overseas Magic Gallery]

[Embarrassing Self-Portrait.jpg]

A single Korean left a heartfelt 13-line comment on the official teaser for the national exchange competition regarding Katsuhata Emika, and the response is absolutely scorching.

Over 300 likes, but 5000 dislikes, and replies are nearing 400!

And it’s not just anyone—it’s an absurdly talented individual who even succeeded in external manifestation, and that too on aura and swordsmanship, lol.

(Question Mark Pepe Meme)

Some of you might wonder why there’s such a fuss over a Vtube comment, but in overseas communities, they’ve already tagged it as Ugly Korean and it’s spreading rapidly.

This year, Korea didn’t participate in the national exchange competition, and it’s being used as an excuse to get slapped tenfold.

There wasn’t much bait to roll out this year, so if even the commentators for the national exchange competition hear about this, it’d seriously be an international embarrassment.

[Comments]

– Korea didn’t participate? They couldn’t, right?

└ It’s correct that they didn’t. Costa Rica participated; there’s no way Korean magicians are worse than them, right?

– Hmm, account is private… just shows how major incidents require agility!

└ He is Chinese.

– What nonsense is this? How can the judgment of a painted attack be based on stride? Obviously, he’s just an otaku.

└ External manifestation isn’t a switch you can flip on or off; it’s ridiculous to even suggest that lol.

└ There’s a 99.999% chance this is just your average person speculating.

– Are the commentators on the official broadcast of the national exchange mentioning this Korean commentator?

└ Oh sh*t!

└ No, that must never happen…!

└ They’d become a lifelong joke lol.

[What did the commentator do wrong to get bashed like that?]

Did he showcase a way to distinguish paint motions based solely on shoulders and strides,

Did he tell the heir of the Katsuhata school that her sword technique was lacking,

Did he say that’s not how external manifestation is done?

What exactly did (Private) do wrong!!! (Really don’t know)

[Comments]

– He really did it lol.

– Not a single one of them seems to be dodging the line lol.

– I think I finally understand why the Japanese all went crazy.

└ A Japanese person giving advice to Na Me? I’d also blast them without a second thought lol.

– Respect for not deleting the comment despite the ruckus.

└ It’s futile; it’s already spread across all sorts of communities.

– The fact he touched the sanctuary known as Katsuhata Emika was just too much. I see that some of the points might hold merit, but…

└ Where is it correct?

└ Isn’t it a bit too defensive? I expected more fluidity in the lightsaber movements.

[Finally Season 1 Commentator replies!!! (Not a joke!)]

Not a joke, a commentator actually replied. I’ve attached a screenshot with a link.

[-(Private): I’ll film a video and show you.]

Is this leading to a comeback?

[Comments]

– No, what kind of confidence is that lol.

– I kinda like this vibe though?

– A shoutout to my man.

– It’s popcorn-worthy lol.

– The private commenter adds tension to the relaxed national exchange competition!

– Let’s go~ Let’s go~