NOVEL WEB Chapter 104 - Axe Goddess Yoo Jin
Chapter 104 – Axe Goddess Yoo Jin
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“Wow, why are there so many messages….”
Saturday morning.
The rain clouds that had been incessantly hovering throughout August had finally cleared, and the outside was bathed in sunlight.
Sitting in her gaming chair, Harmony was checking the messages she had received recently, basking in the soft sunlight filtering into the house.
A bright red notification marked “999+” rather than “99+”. It was overwhelmingly demanding her attention, as if begging to be read.
Unlike Yoo Jin, whose entire body seemed to be made of steel and high-powered engines, Harmony’s reality was fragile and soft. Although she had recently started doing cardio exercises at the gym, it had only been about four weeks at most.
In short, to put it bluntly, Harmony didn’t have the stamina that Yoo Jin did. Hence, after finishing her broadcasts, she would often collapse soon after. Sometimes, she even had to contact her editors the next day.
It was already one in the afternoon.
Harmony, who had woken up in the late morning, had finished a light lunch at home. Eating a small lunch usually led her to snacks, so she replaced the lacking satiety with konjac jelly.
Recently, her mornings and afternoons had been busy. Due to the increased joint broadcasts with Yoo Jin, both her skills and mental fatigue had simultaneously increased. This meant she had to handle tasks she used to do late at night as soon as she woke up.
Was this the life of an office worker? Harmony found herself thinking about this more often lately.
Buzz.
The numerous unread messages. Messages displayed before her eyes through the VR machine linked to her phone. They ranged from personal to public matters.
However, the phone was more for handling official matters, while more personal conversations often took place there, indicating higher importance.
She quickly processed the unread messages from the top.
First was the group chat with her editors and herself. Most of the messages were about video uploads to Yourspace. There were also questions about editing, but they were inevitably buried since she hadn’t checked them.
She left a greeting, but no one responded. They all seemed to be tossing and turning in bed after working late into the night.
The second was the regular check-in messages from her parents. Since streaming wasn’t particularly exhausting, she replied that there was nothing special going on.
As she read through them one by one, the 999+ notification changed to 128. This was because she had deliberately left one group chat unchecked.
It was the last one.
[Dol: ㅑㅑㅑㅑㅑㅑㅑㅑㅑ］
[Dol: I’m being honest］
[Aurora: Absurd! Stop it!］
[Dol: This is so mean］
[Dol: Look at the numbers not going down］
[Dol: Moni!!!!!］
[Dol: If this goes on, we’re all going to die!!!］
.
.
.
.
“Why are they acting like this again?”
As with any place, when three or more people gather, they form a group.
Whether it was a social group formed by three friends or a group intentionally created to achieve a goal, it would have a shared direction among all its members.
This was true for the MCN Bonk Brothers’ affiliated streamers to which Harmony belonged as well.
It had started as a small group.
But time had been enough to reveal the gems buried in the sand, and the chat room initially created to boost each other’s popularity through joint broadcasts had evolved into a place where major streamers gathered to chat about anything and everything.
Yet, it wasn’t entirely dysfunctional. The 120 or so messages in this room were filled with content related to the Dark Zone joint broadcasts.
Why they were targeting me specifically, I didn’t quite know.
“I haven’t been in touch for a while, though.”
Although it hadn’t been that long, in an internet-connected world, one could exchange greetings in less than a second.
In such a context, being out of contact for a couple of days wasn’t exactly short.
Having grasped the gist of the messages, she exited the chat room and checked the messages from ‘Dol’, one of the streamers she had been broadcasting with for a long time. She had a rough idea of what they might contain.
And indeed, they weren’t much different.
[Dol: ㅑㅑㅑㅑㅑㅑㅑㅑ］
[Dol: Moni~~］
[Dol: You’ve been really into Dark Zone lately….］
[Dol: It seems like you’ll do the main mission with that teacher, so how about we catch up with something else?］
The unique way of speaking was as usual.
Understanding the message, she replied, and almost immediately, the “1” indicating unread messages disappeared as if Dol had been watching.
[Harmony: Sure!!］
[Dol: !!!］
[Dol: Wow, you finally responded lol］
[Dol: Let me know when you’re free!］
When am I free.
This weekend was a bit tricky. Starting today, a stadium-like virtual reality broadcast room was scheduled to be created, and with the Preliminary Rank still ongoing, she wanted to watch Yoo Jin’s match.
Moreover, the main story hadn’t been fully completed yet. However, since the minimum storyline needed to reach max level was in the mid-late stages, it was likely that the issue would be resolved by this weekend or at the latest by Monday.
Thirdly, and lastly, was the skill issue. She had mentioned wanting to improve her skills just yesterday, and training for this was scheduled for today. Just as one must pay attention to makeup and coordination when meeting others, one must have basic skills to play with others.
Her calculations were done.
[Harmony: Any day next week is fine^^］
[Dol: You seem quite free??］
[Dol: How about next Wednesday then?..］
[Harmony: Sounds good~~］
[Dol: Hahaha, okay!］
Thus, a new schedule was set.
Meanwhile, a notification popped up before her eyes.
[Warning: 30 minutes left until the meeting with ‘the teacher’.］
A warning, not just a notification.
It was intentionally set that way, but practically, there wasn’t much difference.
Although she read Dol’s belated greetings, her mind was already captivated by the recent message. It might have been anticipation, or perhaps anxiety. Either way, it was the first pressure she had felt since her kindergarten talent show.
Like being possessed, she typed.
[Dol: Aren’t you too busy these days? It’s so hard to reach youㅠ You’re spending so much time with that streamer Yoo Jin］
[Dol: If it’s tough, just take your timeㅋㅋ!!］
[Harmony: Oh, it’s not like that,,］
[Harmony: No, I’m actually the one asking for this and thatㅋㅋ］
[Harmony: Actually, I’m meeting her today too!］
[Dol: DDM］
[Harmony: I’ll contact you again before I start streaming laterㅎㅎ!!］
[Harmony: Bye~］
[Dol: ???］
[Dol: Hey, hey］
[Dol: Where are you going!!!!!!!!!!!］
Later, Dol would testify that it felt as if she had been NTR’d.
It was the usual snowball effect caused by Yoo Jin.
Meanwhile, 30 minutes ago.
“Aaah! It hurts! I won’t be able to compete at this rate!”
“Did you really think you could make such comments and then calmly compete?”
“I’m sorry! Aaaah! I’m really sorry──!!”
Thwack!
Dice tapped the floor with her left hand, repeatedly begging for mercy, while Yoo Jin, with a small smile on her face, executed a textbook-perfect armbar. There was a very simple reason for their current situation.
[Playing: She’s not human… Ah, I feel like I’ll get armbarred again later. This is serious. You can edit my words out, right?］
You reap what you sow.
Dice, who was wailing from the numbing pain in her arm VR had the natural function of blocking excessive pain refrained from uttering any “why” or “how come” as she sobbed.
After a while, the exemplary technique demonstration concluded. Dice, barely getting up, slumped onto the sofa in the makeshift space and spoke.
“Whether I’m in the top 100 or not could depend on one match.”
“If the outcome is swayed by such variables despite my teaching, you might as well calmly hand over the entry ticket to someone else.”
“Why are your standards so high!?”
“There aren’t many who set their standards as leniently as I do.”
Dice’s face momentarily puffed up, but upon reflection, it made sense.
It was literally the case where someone with insane skills capable of crushing opponents taught with such ease and without anger, even when dealing with SSM kids skill-wise, speaking.
Considering the training videos of foreign pro gamers sometimes seen on Yourspace, where trainers and instructors often shouted their lungs out in the game….
Yoo Jin was certainly an impressive individual in many ways.
Of course, that didn’t mean the numbness in Dice’s arm would go away easily.
“What have you been up to these days? Are you still grinding missions? I thought the main mission’s difficulty was super easy, so you’d finish it quickly.”
“Every mission’s difficulty is set to very hard by default. So, it wasn’t that easy.”
“…What?”
“It’s a trait of hardcore users.”
Memories flashed by.
From Yoo Jin’s infiltration into West Point, almost the first thing she did, to the countless Artemis missions that followed, and the many infiltration operations afterward….
That was all on the very
hard difficulty, which even max-level users only started tackling seriously? And all cleared with the difficulty rating: Omega? Plus, with a half-ordinary user like Harmony tagging along?
Dice’s disbelief evaporated in real-time.
“…Is that possible without being max level?”
“Which is why each mission took about two hours on average.”
“Two hours… on hardcore….”
Good grief.
Considering that even regular people would collapse just by moving a bit strenuously with full gear, her stamina to leisurely participate in the Preliminary Rank after grinding the main mission, clinch first place, and then return to the mission….
Dice’s incredulity peaked around that moment.
“This is why I can’t help but question if you’re human! Every move you make is to an extreme that seems impossible for a person!”
“If you’d only said that here, there might have been room for leniency.”
“I’m sorry….”
She prostrated herself, begging for mercy to survive.
But amidst it all, a recent news tidbit popped into her mind.
Dice, struggling to get up, sat on the sofa and added.
“…Anyway, I watched your recent match. Your popularity has been soaring lately, especially with the recent interview.”
“Interview?”
“…What?”
“I haven’t heard anything about an interview.”
…What?
Their eyes met, but Yoo Jin genuinely seemed clueless.
Dice, with a wry smile, started fiddling with her fingers.
“Well, there was a lot of buzz last night because of the Corvus interview, yet the person involved has no idea!?”
“That’s because I really don’t know.”
“Oh dear….”
At the same time, a window popped up.
There was no need to explain what it was. Dice had just been talking about that very interview.
With Yoo Jin’s curious gaze fixed on the screen, the interview began after a brief buffering. The screen showed an avatar seated in a chair, with a prominently visible microphone clipped to their collar.
Long hair, reminiscent of a crow, flowed down to their shoulder blades.
A remark was tossed out.
“Why do people here like to make their avatars female?”
“…You have a female avatar too, Yoo Jin.”
“….”
With a pouting expression, Yoo Jin seemed to have more to say but decided to stay silent. As the interview continued, Dice fiddled with the time bar, finding the spot she was looking for.
The clear voices of two women continued.
“Here, from here.”
[Q: …Yes! Thank you for your answer. Now, moving on to the next question. Last night, an announcement was made that a cinematic video with a horror atmosphere, produced in collaboration between Xi and ICARUS, will be released within a month.］
[A: Yes, that’s correct.］
[Q: I’m really looking forward to it. Did you know about this, Corvus? If so, since when?］
[A: Haha, I found out on Friday. You see, I had a rather cinematic death around that time, right? They contacted me, asking if they could include that clip in the cinematic video.］
[Q: Haha, that scene indeed. Then they must have contacted that person as well by now?］
[A: Yes, they should have.］
A peculiar sound followed.
The interview continued.
[Q: Quite an impressive decision. If I had met such an end, I would have hesitated because of the unease.］
[A: I thought the same initially. But after a while, a sense of reverence emerged. And… to be frank, Yoo Jin’s case is rare, isn’t it? Watching the clip again, the look and the gameplay were quite impressive.
So, rather than burying it, I thought it should be spread more widely, which is why I accepted the offer.］
[Q: Haha! That was a very insightful answer. This concludes the interview. Is there anything you’d like to add?］
Then, the final part.
When Dice first heard it, she almost rolled on the floor laughing.
[A: Um, well. Axe Goddess Yoo Jin, fighting!］
[(Laughter from off-screen）］
Thus, the interview ended.
Of course, she couldn’t hold back her laughter this time either.
Yoo Jin, staring at the now-ended screen with a peculiar expression and a wry smile, and Dice, who, despite her best efforts, failed to stifle her laughter and ended up giggling on the sofa.
Only the last shred of rationality prevented her from verbally repeating the phrase “Axe Goddess.”
“…Pfft, heh, hehehe… Ah, it’s so funny, hahaha!”
“…Huff.”
Preliminary Rank.
It was a place where even the skilled couldn’t survive if they were clumsy.
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