Ch.10398 – Warm-up

Have you ever been in a theater after all actors and audience have left?

In that space devoid of dazzling sets, ear-pleasing music, and colorful lighting, all you can face is yourself.

Only silence filled the space I could now proudly call my home.

Dishes stacked in the sink waiting to be cleaned, chicken bones picked clean of meat, outerwear scattered on the sofa, and underwear freshly tossed aside.

I had just finished showering.

Water dripped from my hair, dampening the living room floor, but I didn’t need to worry about it.

It would naturally evaporate in a day or two. I vaguely remembered hearing from military viewers that sprinkling some water on the floor can actually help during dry weather like this.

‘What’s this…?’

Before entering my room, I stepped on a Polaroid photo on the floor.

Picking it up, I saw it was one of dozens taken yesterday with Haru’s camera.

Yu-na, who didn’t have a phone, had been delighted to receive all the photos Haru gave her.

She must have dropped this one during the game of tag that broke out when she discovered Haru had drawn a mustache on her face in one of the pictures.

“I’ll return it to her tomorrow at the academy.”

Haru had left early this morning, practically dragged away by the man in sunglasses, and I had made sure Yu-na was well taken care of before sending her home.

Professor Cheon woke me up quietly even earlier, while the children were still deep in dreamland.

[I think I need to go to America right away.]

For a moment I thought I was dreaming and blurted out “America?” but he calmly explained the situation.

Among the technologies for making potions in solid form, some had come from the United States, and the US State Department hadn’t approved the technology transfer.

Despite domestic researchers’ efforts to convince them it wasn’t for commercial use, the Americans remained firm in their stance, so he needed to go personally.

[Don’t play games too long. And make sure you eat properly!]

…Since he said he’d be back by tomorrow evening at the latest, I could think of it as just a business trip to Busan.

After sending everyone off, the house felt too spacious for just me to wander around in.

I deeply regretted not asking Yu-na to stay.

Though I hadn’t been drinking, I felt an extreme sense of weakness.

Perhaps it was because I had felt human warmth after so long.

I could still feel the two girls hugging me tightly on both sides.

As if by agreement, they had placed me in the middle, embracing me like a pillow. They put their arms and legs over my body and fell asleep just like that.

Don’t think a child’s weight is light. When it continues for hours, you definitely feel the pressure—I occasionally coughed when breathing became difficult.

But in contrast to this weakness, my overall condition feels incredibly refreshed.

I don’t know how long it’s been since I slept so deeply without dreaming.

Back in my room, I vigorously dried the moisture from my body with a towel.

Having a small body was useful at times like this.

Just wrapping the towel around me once was enough to dry almost everywhere.

I desperately wanted to enter the capsule naked, but this wasn’t just my house.

Even with no one watching, it seemed proper to maintain minimum decency, so I threw on a white dress that came down to my knees.

It seemed I hadn’t dried myself as thoroughly as I thought—the silk dress clung to my remaining dampness.

Too lazy to change into something else now, I threw myself into the capsule.

Before full-diving, I caught myself unconsciously preparing the streaming setup and gasped.

It was more convenient to set things up with a few clicks of my fingers than to manually move through settings in virtual space. As someone who pursued maximum efficiency, it was something I shouldn’t forget, but…

‘I didn’t exactly promise myself I’d start streaming right away.’

Originally, I had only planned to do some light warm-up.

The current time was 11 AM, a bit earlier than the time I’d promised viewers.

Having already finished the streaming setup, it seemed pointless to undo it, so I decided to compromise by permanently freezing the chat while still broadcasting the screen.

No need to tire myself out dealing with people before I had to.

For the title…

[Streaming begins: 0:00:01 – NoName]

[Legacy of Legend – A Person Longing for Warmth (chat disabled)]

[Stream time – 0:00:01]

[Viewers – 1]

* * *

I chose Legacy of Legend simply because it was the only game I knew how to play.

The main hall, which I was visiting after a long time, was bustling with people.

As expected, ranked matches were where most people gathered.

But my feet led me to the neighboring area.

[Custom Game]

[tag: 1vs1]

As I always emphasize, LoL’s essence could never be considered a purely mechanical game.

Looking at footage from decades ago when pro gamers played on computers, you could see a harmonious blend of mechanics and macro play, but now it seemed too focused on macro elements.

Too rarely was a game’s outcome determined by gaps created during the laning phase.

A game where comebacks are always possible might be exciting, but it couldn’t shake the feeling of relying too much on luck.

But one-on-one was different.

I liked how all the complex concepts—each champion’s power curve by level, matchups, range—could be simply expressed as “mechanics.”

There was always something thrilling about comprehensively evaluating individual prowess to gain an advantage over an opponent.

Above all, the biggest merit was that it took less time than a regular LoL match.

Since it had been a while since I’d moved vigorously in virtual reality, I planned to start with LoL, which had lower freedom of movement, and gradually adapt my body.

[Room title: Paysauce password 2 digits (1/2)]

[**]

While browsing through various rooms and refreshing, one room title caught my eye.

It didn’t seem like a game made for friends, but strangely it had a password.

In the past, I would have ignored it and looked for another room, but the tier of the person waiting inside caught my attention.

[Paysauce – Challenger]

Challenger. Beings far above the Master tier I had achieved a few months ago.

Feeling competitive, I tried a random number.

If wrong, I’d just look for another room.

[P/W: 77]

[Paysauce’s game – Valhalla Battlefield · Private Selection · 1v1]

‘It worked…?’

Must be my lucky day.

From one corner of the dome house waiting room, an ordinary-looking man waved at me.

“Wow, someone joined right after I created the room again. Was the password too easy?”

“…?”

“Ah, you must be shy. I understand. So, which champions should we use?”

His eager and friendly greeting seemed suspicious, but I figured he was just playing the role of a reclusive master and didn’t think much of it.

“Can I decide?”

“Let me check your tier… Oh, Diamond 1? Even for Diamond 1, you can’t just pick anything, haha.”

His respectful tone paradoxically exuded confidence.

“Then Irelia versus Fiora. Let’s meet at top.”

“Ooh, how romantic! Should I play Irelia?”

“No. I’ll play Irelia.”

Irelia, one of the original 51 champions of Legacy of Legend.

True to her unique skill mechanism, she was a champion that came over from the previous game without a single skill change.

I often used her for rs missions, so I trusted my body would remember how to play her even after a long time.

“Whew, even though I’m an ADC main, that matchup will be tough for you. Don’t you want the chicken gift card?”

Ignoring his incomprehensible remarks, I organized the runes to take into battle.

He crouched next to me and continued talking.

“You know the rules, right? Two solo kills or 100 rs. You can go back to base anytime. Since you picked a difficult champion, I’ll add you as a friend if you get just one kill.”

“You’re very confident.”

“Haha, it’s a kind of occupational disease.”

“I’m curious what your occupation is.”

“What…? You don’t know who I am?”

“Do I need to know who Mustard is while playing a 1v1?”

“You really don’t know? Wait, how did you find this room?”

“Just browsing through 1v1 rooms—”

“What a coincidence! Well, nice to meet you! Pay… I mean, just call me Mustard!”

“Ah, okay…”

[Welcome to the battlefield.]

The north wind blew.

* * *

The 1v1 battlefield had a desolate atmosphere.

The battlefield unfolded against the backdrop of the sun setting below the horizon.

I glared at the woman wielding a blue rapier before me.

The moment I moved even a step, she would rush at me relentlessly and cut me to pieces.

Even when possessing a game character, her smile was still annoying.

An annoying smile I could only tolerate from Hiasen. I couldn’t forgive anyone else.

“I’ll be in your care then? I’ll go easy on you, so don’t be too nervous and just relax!”

“…”

Six soldiers marched in step toward the enemy formation.

However, the same was true for the opponent’s side.

As expected, Fiora stood far ahead of the formed line, blocking the middle path to prevent me from even gaining experience.

Come if you dare. That’s what she seemed to be saying.

We were only level 1, but the psychological battle had already begun.

Fiora needed to hit weak points, while Irelia needed to land her marks.

Fiora had a slight advantage in the matchup. Even if Irelia used her E, Fiora could easily counter it with her W skill.

To break this familiar standoff, I tried a simple mind game.

If Fiora’s dash missed, I could easily take control from early levels, so I measured the precarious distance while swaying like a tail.

However, my opponent was skilled enough not to waste skills carelessly.

“Aren’t you going to get experience?”

I wouldn’t fall for such low-level provocation.

I knew exactly the range where I could gain experience.

Just as an enemy soldier was about to fall,

I rushed at Fiora with my blade and struck a blow.

“If you want experience, you must be punished!”

Though my opponent’s words sounded frivolous, his response was surprisingly sharp and deadly.

In a direct exchange, Fiora had the advantage, and with the Bone Plating rune, while I lost 250 of my 600 health, he didn’t even lose 200.

This was within my expectations. With the “Wind of Regeneration” rune, my health recovery was faster. Once we hit level 2, the HP difference would become insignificant.

But Fiora seemed unsatisfied with this and turned toward me, apparently wanting to exchange one more auto attack.

Irelia’s skill cooldown is 11 seconds, 2 seconds faster than Fiora’s. But it was obvious the opponent was intentionally trying to force me to counter-attack.

If I used my skill to dash at Fiora again, he would be in a good position to hit my weak points.

So after exchanging one auto attack each, I moved my champion deeper toward the fortress.

I was already certain.

The moment he turned to land his fourth auto attack, I knew the game was already over.

My ranged minions joined in, chipping away at Fiora’s health with light attacks as she returned to lane.

“I’ve already won this game.”

“Are you being overconfident? You should look at the health bars…”

“This is why ADC players like you can’t escape the derogatory nickname ‘spoon-feeders.'”

“What…?”

He was a genuine ADC main. I had checked his record during the loading time before making that comment.

A 2v2 lane and a 1v1 lane have completely different mechanics.

Unlike bottom lane, where ranged champions can gain one-sided advantages by hitting the tower with minions using range and level 2 timing, Irelia actually becomes stronger when near the fortress. Being a melee character, there’s no proper way to harass her.

Mr. Mustard looked so flustered that the rapier in his hand trembled against the ground.

“Wow, that’s some strong trash talk! So which lane do you main?”

“All lanes.”