Do All Dreams Come True If You Dream Them? (4)

Something feels strange.

Why… why is this so delicious?

The flavor of cheese that seems to melt softly in my mouth.

A slightly salty yet mild aftertaste.

The chewy texture when chewed – everything was satisfying.

I knew my body had changed and my food preferences had shifted, but I didn’t expect it to be this much.

I never knew cheese was such a sophisticated food.

Come to think of it, the pasta I ate with Luche was quite rich too.

I was just too distracted to notice.

Have my preconceptions been blocking such happiness until now?

I only realized how good this is now?

It was a taste that made me reflect on myself anew.

“…You’re eating well despite acting like you wouldn’t.”

“Gasp.”

“Let’s order one more if it’s not enough after you finish. If there are leftovers, we can put them in the fridge and reheat them later.”

“Thank you…”

A feeling of dejection rises from the sudden embarrassment.

Nevertheless, I continued to savor the pizza without stopping.

Every time the white cheese touched my tongue, a strange satisfaction welled up.

During the meal, I didn’t watch any more match videos.

Rest when resting, work when working. That had been the rule I’d kept since my athlete days.

There was also something I wanted to consult about.

“Master. There’s something I’ve been worried about lately,”

“Hm? What is it? Tell me. I’ll help with anything I can.”

“Well… I’ve received help from some people for this tournament.”

I was talking about Sulbbang and Elderin.

Traveler is there too, but that was just a transaction.

He probably needs some time alone now, and there were various difficulties in contacting him right away.

So what I had in mind was Elderin’s proposal.

The suggestion to meet if I achieved good results in the tournament.

I heard it was okay to refuse, but… maybe because I’ve spent too much lonely time?

I was increasingly feeling the desire to make new connections.

It’s true that I received help, as I was able to focus on the current tournament thanks to the income I received then.

These days, probably due to participating in the tournament, I’m barely getting any work.

It’s a kind of lean period, and without Elderin, I might have had to dip into my emergency funds.

“When you play games, you can make enemies… so helping me is quite a risky action.”

“You mean they bravely reached out first.”

“Yes. Such a person wants to meet in real life, and honestly, I’m a bit worried.”

“What kind of worry?”

“In the game I play, a lot of money moves around. People spend and earn. Many people, like me, do it for a living. So until now, I’ve always avoided situations where my personal information might be sold. Where money is involved, anything can happen, right?”

Of course, it might be an unfounded worry.

Even if Inbul’s siege scene is messy, it might be too much to think it would lead to crime.

But I’ve become much weaker.

It doesn’t even have to be an adult male; anyone with functioning limbs could physically subdue me.

A fear I didn’t need to experience as an athlete now makes me overly sensitive.

 

Yet the reason I’m stretching out after being curled up for so long is – because loneliness is too painful.

The addictiveness of the warmth I’ve encountered once has scrambled my brain like a drug.

I needed people.

“Seems like you’re not sure. They’re strangers, so it might be dangerous.”

“…Yes.”

“I understand. Don’t be too dejected. You’ve taken courage too. You’ve done well enough.”

Master pats my shoulder.

His hand feels much bigger and more reassuring than before.

Fortunately, it seems I’m not too strange.

Since he’s encouraging me this much, I should muster a bit more courage.

When I log into the game later, I’ll suggest setting up a meeting after the tournament ends.

Well, what could happen?

“From what I hear, it seems you haven’t set up a meeting yet, but where do you think you’ll meet if you do?”

“Probably Seoul. They suggested meeting there.”

“Really? That’s close then. Send me the place and time as soon as you set it up.”

“That’s not difficult, but… why?”

Are you planning to come along?

That would be a bit troublesome.

There wouldn’t be anything for you to talk about… and it would look like a disciple exploiting their master.

Or am I already exploiting you with this tournament business?

I don’t know. My head is getting a bit dizzy.

“As long as it’s not at a strange time, I might have a team dinner with some of the kids I teach nearby. That way, we won’t disturb the young folks having fun, and you can feel at ease too, right?”

“Is, is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? I was thinking of treating them to some meat anyway. It’s not difficult for me to just match the place and time.”

Tears welled up at his casual tone.

I didn’t intend to cry, but when I came to my senses, my eyes were damp.

This must be because my body has weakened too.

So, it wasn’t my fault.

Not wanting to show my tears, I pulled out a tissue and pressed it against my eyelids.

Fortunately, Master turned his head away.

* * *

Even after leaving, Master continued to send me his personal opinions.

Thanks to this precious support, I did my best with what I could do immediately.

In the end, there was a lack of data on Crow, but the same was true for him facing me.

From now on, it was an area I had to pioneer on my own.

However, if he thinks what I’ve shown so far is all I have, I’ll make him end up like Muse.

I heard his buttocks are suffering from all kinds of composite memes overseas.

Well, it seems he’s coolly enjoying it.

I had to acknowledge that solid human toughness.

Anyway, the semifinals that seemed like they would never come finally found me.

The timing of the tournament was indeed capricious.

When I was eagerly waiting, it didn’t move an inch, but when I thought it was still far off, it came striding forward and pushed my back.

Where I was pushed, there was a new battlefield.

[Infinity Arena Semi Final – Match 1]

[Battlefield: Bamboo Grove]

[vs Team CP Crow(Necromancer)]

Bamboo Grove is, as the name suggests, a battlefield modeled after East Asian bamboo forests.

There are no special gimmicks, but the bamboo here is quite sturdy even by player standards.

In the case of longswords, the sword path might be blocked midway if it wavers, but this doesn’t apply to Crow, a mage, or me, who mainly uses daggers.

A place with clear visibility but obstacles everywhere.

I searched for the opponent’s position by striding through the bamboo rather than the main road.

In this match, I invested quite a few points in detection abilities.

As there was little prior information, I needed to increase the basis for judgment on the spot.

The magic power swirling between the bamboo looked like a dark navy mist.

‘Magic detection is focused on searching upwards. In this case, it would be better to go in with a lowered posture. Well, I did use a lot of aerial ambushes in this Arena.’

I approach silently, avoiding the thickly spread magic power.

On the way, I saw a few eerie undead.

Zombies emanating a rotten smell, or skeletons with weathered white bones.

They weren’t summons that posed an immediate threat, but they would be bothering me until this match ended.

I just noted their positions and moved on.

In this game, the necromancer is a class specialized in handling corporeal undead.

The kind of profession you might associate with when thinking of a necromancer.

If there’s a difference, it might be that they completely gave up on ghost-type undead like banshees or ghosts.

As I moved to the center where magic power was gushing out, I saw a sphere that looked like a mass of bizarre bones.

It was certain that Crow was inside that.

There was no benefit in dragging this out, so I immediately slashed at the sphere with my dagger at full power.

Following my sword path, one side of the sphere was cleanly cut.

I couldn’t cut it entirely, but I briefly saw blood flowing from inside.

[The dead are watching you.]

[All undead handled by the necromancer fiercely hate you.]

I shouldn’t get greedy just because the first attack landed.

The ground of the bamboo grove is made of easily diggable soil, and Crow’s favorite strategy in the last match was setting up traps in invisible places in advance.

Sure enough, a giant bone rose from the ground.

What appeared after it fully emerged was a hand bone that looked like it came from a giant.

If I had been greedy, I would have been caught by that hand or stabbed by its sharp tip.

As the broken sphere disassembled, Crow’s figure became visible.

For pro gamers, in-game avatars are a kind of self-PR.

A unique avatar makes it easy to create an image, which can be easily imprinted in fans’ minds.

Muse’s dancer gaining popularity with her revealing outfit was in the same context.

That might just be her preference, but anyway.

The concept Crow chose was also relatively clear.

A man in pitch-black clothes with a mask reminiscent of a crow’s beak, true to his nickname.

A figure clearly imitating a medieval plague doctor struck his staff on the ground with a thud.

Something began to approach me rapidly from underground.