Chapter 46 Rin (Patreon)

“Blaze, I’m almost there, although, I don't have any MP and HP left. As much as it pains me to say it, I would have to rely on you. We all have faith in you so do your best!” my teammate Lyra spoke through the team chat.

“Don't worry, Frostia, I will shoulder everyone’s feelings… and with the power of our bonds… I won't lose!” I declared.

Whaaa- that was so cringe! Why do I have to say such lines? Still, I have no choice though, our contract demands we role-play for our fans. My opponent is one hit away from dying though, so let’s make this as flashy as possible.

“You may be strong, but you stand alone. I carry the strength of my comrades who believe in me, with their support, I will end this now! Crimson Blaze Slash!” I exclaimed.

I made a horizontal slash, releasing a long-range attack, a blazing arc that hit my foe. A burst of fire surged forth, dancing and reaching out with an energetic fervor as if nature itself had momentarily harnessed the passion of a roaring bonfire. The flames embraced my enemy, flickering with an untamed vitality, painting the surroundings with warmth and an ephemeral glimpse of raw, primal intensity. It was not really necessary, but it would be a flashy finisher that is needed to complete my role-play.

“Ghaa!” he shouted as he was enveloped in the flames of my attack.

BlackThunder

HP: 0%

“Accept the purifying flames of my heart and atone for your sins!”

“But… I… didn’t do no crimes yet though…" he said before he disappeared into blue motes of light.

I know, but please forgive me for saying that! Our contract demands us to be flashy allies of justice!

As if scripted, which it might as well be because I’m sure she planned for it from the start, my teammate Lyra arrived at the scene of the final battle.

“Blaze! Are you hurt?” she analyzed me from head to toe, worry evident on her face.

Of course not! This is just a VR game you know! But… we have to show how close our friendship is and how much we care for each other to our fans. I’ll just have to play along.

“A little, but I can manage with you by my side, Frostia,” I said as I pulled her close for a hug.

“S-stupid, w-what are you doing! Don’t hug me all of a sudden,” she replied while not entirely rejecting the contact, perfectly playing the role of a tsundere.

Your Team Won!

Congratulations!

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After the match, we are currently resting inside the Atelier organization building lounge. It is only natural that we would be here considering that our team, Magical Atelier, is a semi-pro team created by the Atelier organization itself. The lounge has many endearingly designed plush, pastel-colored oversized chairs adorned with soft throw pillows and fluffy blankets litter the room. The lounge has a subtle, sweet scent of lavender wafting through the air, leaving a favorable and soothing smell. There are also delicate, sheer curtains filtering the sunlight, casting a warm, gentle glow across the room making the ambiance much more relaxing. It feels good to be sponsored by the Atelier itself it's like a dream come true. I have to work hard to not squander this opportunity, our team needs to pass the qualifiers at least so that we play at the main stage, garnering us more exposure and fans in the process.

I should be relaxing and preparing for the next match, but the problem is, I am currently troubled by something I did earlier. Something so embarrassing It would be hard to forget so easily.

“What's the matter Rin, you look bothered?” Wren, our captain, and tank of the group, noticed my apprehension.

“I-it’s nothing...” I tried to pass it off.

She studied me for a second before continuing. “Hmm, don't tell me you're still thinking about what you did a while ago. I told you to get used to it.”

“I know I should... but still…”

“I see no problem with what you did though. Our fanbase likes to see how close we are to each other, and it is our job to give them a little service, besides, Lyra doesn’t mind, right?” Elie, our archer, interjected.

“Of course not, I liked it even, I didn’t know you were this bold, Rin?” Lyra, our mage, teased as she gave me a flirtatious wink.

“Aren’t you supposed to be cool, calm, and collected, please stop acting like that…”

“Yeah, on camera I am, but that kind of personality is unrealistic, can’t play tsundere forever, right? Gotta let loose sometimes and say what’s on my mind.”

“I guess… but aren’t you embarrassed about… what happened earlier?” I hesitated to ask.

“Not really, but I do get where you are coming from. The Atelier organization recruited you mostly for your skills, it is the reason you are our ace after all. It's fine if you're not used to public acting yet, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses so just focus on winning our matches. Besides, acting in front of the camera is a skill that you will just get used to over time, trust me, you will get a lot of practice, especially in the U20 tournament where we will get a lot of exposure from interviews and the like.”

“Please don't talk like we already won the qualifiers…”

“We might as well, you know the brackets are ‘kinda rigged, right? We are already set up for success. And besides, we only have one last match before we get through the qualifiers,” Ellie butted in.

“I guess… who are our last opponents anyway?”

“Hmm,” Wren pondered as she scrolled down her phone. “Their team name is ‘Paradigm’? Sounds like Paragon fans… hmm, I don't know much about them, let's just ask our manager for more info we can use against our next opponents,” our captain helpfully replied.

"Where is she anyway? Isn’t she supposed to cheer us on in our last qualifier match or something?" Ellie complained.

Saying that, a brunette in her 30’s entered the lounge. She is wearing a well-tailored blazer and dressed in stylish but professional-looking comfortable attire suitable for the fast-paced environment of a gaming organization like ours.

“Speaking of the devil,” Wren muttered.

“Hello girls! Congratulations on your match! That was an exceptional showing, especially when Rin hugged Lyra after a hard-fought battle, our ratings went through the roof!” she greeted cheerfully.

“Please don’t remind me!” I said as I covered my face in shame.

“Oh, don’t be like that, you did well, you’re a natural at this. A lot of our fans are now shipping Blaze and Frostia because of what you did!”

“I only got the courage to do it because of the adrenaline I got from the fight, so I went with the flow!”

“Yeah, that is what you call a natural,” our manager rebutted.

“Urk!”

“Any news and weaknesses about our last opponents?” luckily Lyra changed the topic.

“Oh right, I almost forgot what I came here for,” she gave a sheepish grin. “To be quite frank, they are quite an enigma, they are not backed by any gaming organizations but they have two rankers playing in their team. You guys should not underestimate them, they are strong.”

The revelation made my tummy ache a bit. Two rankers on a single non-organization team under twenty. They do seem strong. No, Rin don’t be scared, our team has three rankers. Believe in your teammates, we got this!

“Whether they’re weak or strong doesn’t give us a clue about what formation we would do next though,” Lyra’s question brought me out of my self-encouragement session.

“Yes, it doesn’t, that’s another problem too. It pains me to say this, but they have a capable strategist backing their team. I fear if we do a counter strategy, we might fall into their trap like one of their past victims in the qualifiers.”

“They’re that good?” Ellie chimed in, amazement was evident in her face.

“Yup, they can accurately predict where their enemies are going to send their players and create a match-up that is favorable for them. I’m not sure if it’s a fluke or not, but better be safe than sorry. It is quite scary if you ask me,” as if to make a point, she involuntarily shivered.

“Hmm, coupled with two rankers, I can see why they can be quite problematic,” Wren assessed.

“Don’t worry, I have a solution for that,”

“What is it?”

“He he he, my ultimate strategy is… to have a draw lots on what our formation for the next match will be! Yaaay!”

We stared at her incredulously.

“Please take this seriously!” we all shouted in unison.

“I am serious, the enemy can’t predict our moves if even we don’t know what we will do ourselves, right?”

That made me pause. I don’t know if I should call it stupid or a genius way of thinking.

“Hmm, that seems to be the dumbest, yet brightest sentence I have heard for quite some time,” Wren shared my sentiment. “Basically, you want us to choose an orb to go to randomly?”

“No, not choose randomly, we will draw lots! This way, we can completely erase human input from the variables, making our team much more unpredictable!”

“I see now what you’re getting at, although there is a problem with that. What if we don’t get a favorable matchup?” Lyra hesitantly asked.

“Well, we will leave it to the gods of luck and RNG, beats having an unfavorable matchup, right? Besides, I have complete faith that you guys will win in a contest of skill,” she smiled at us, trust evident in her eyes.

Her faith in us made me feel incredibly happy. She might look like an unreliable manager, but she always gives us her unconditional trust and always has our best interest as her top priority. Even if the organization would send us a better strategist and manager than her, I’m sure my teammates and I would unanimously decline it.

“Well then, let's talk about strategy, we still have plenty of time since the last qualifier match has a thirty-minute break before each match. As your manager, I’ll try my best to disclose what we currently know of their strengths and weaknesses and what to do when you face off against each of their members.”

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After the long briefing and discussion of important information and strategies for our last opponent in the qualifiers, we all head over to our gaming room to log in for our match. In the middle of our short walk, we passed towards the training facility of the main pro team of the Atelier organization itself. The entrance to their facility has a sign plastered in it that says ‘Do Not Disturb’.

Noticing the sign too, Lyra pointed it out. “Looks like they’re busy.”

“Yep, they are all training hard for the Andartha Cup which will be held after the U20 tournament.”

“I want to meet them when they’re not occupied. I always have been a huge fan of Miss Aoi. I want their autograph so bad, but I can’t find the right time to ask her!” Ellie aired her grievance.

“I know right? She’s so cool! The gamming community even unanimously voted her as the coolest female VRMMO player! I tried to learn the way of the sword because of her!” I agreed while revealing my internal fan-girl mode.

“She is, but I still think Yuusha would've won that award if she was still here,” Lyra butted in.

“Hmm, still a Yuusha fan-girl till this day and age huh…” Wren said dryly.

“Of course! Yuusha was the reason I played CoA in the first place! The legend’s influence among us  veteran CoA players will never wane. She will always have a special place in my heart!”

“Yes, yes, you girls can talk about your idols later, but for now, let’s focus on your own match first. We can’t be late or we might be disqualified,” our manager urged us to carry on.

At her prompt, we continued to head towards our own gaming facility. As soon as we stepped inside, I felt the vibrant energy buzzing around. The walls are splashed with colorful artwork, some made by fellow gamers and fans in our community. There's a central lounge area with snacks and drinks to keep us fueled during intense gaming sessions. Our setup includes a mix of consoles, PCs, and VR pods with adjustable setups to fit our comfort. After logging in to each of our respective accounts, we immediately received an invitation from the GM that umpired most of our games.

Game Master Rudy invited you to a private lobby. Would You like to Accept? Y/N

“Yes.”

I was teleported to a modern luxury lobby that I was used to by now with how many qualifiers matches we’ve been through. Surveying the room, I saw our opponents on the other side. One of them is so dazzling that It would be impossible to ignore. She stands tall and composed, with a determined, yet friendly gaze. Her blonde hair cascades down in loose waves, complementing her custom royal knight-themed armor. There's a warmth in her smile that contrasts sharply contrast her stylish demeanor. She seemed to be busy talking to another player that also immediately caught my attention. Her tall yet petite figure was complemented by her bold, yet stylish outfit that revealed aplenty of her fair skin. Her cute facial figure was a huge contrast to her mature and calm atmosphere, making her more endearing. I was bought out of my thoughts by the GM’s clear and authoritative voice.

“It seems like everyone is ready. Let us start the final match of the Under 20 Qualifiers bracket H. The winner of this watch will be invited to play in the main tournament. Good luck to both teams! Team Paradigm vs Team Magical Atelier, BEGIN!