By the ti I realized it, I was already in the auditorium.
It was a space packed tightly with chairs, and a podium could be seen in the distance.
I retraced my mory briefly. Today, I’d received an invitation ntioning a collaboration with other teams from the Fantasy League.
It didn’t seem like there was any error or omission in my mory.
Which ant that as soon as I clicked the invitation link, I ended up here. VR gas sure have a knack for startling people with things like this—teleportation is way too fast.
“This doesn’t feel like MyRoom.”
One thing I’d learned as I got used to VR gear is that each VR ga has slightly different textures. Aseasoul uses very realistic textures, while Labyrinthos feels a bit rougher in comparison.
Compared to those, this place feels a bit off from reality. It’s an unusual texture, sothing that doesn’t quite fit, making it feel sowhat surreal but also unfamiliar.
Unless you had a rather unique taste, you wouldn’t decorate your MyRoom like this.
And the most telling detail was the large lettering on the podium reading “Monster Ga.”
This must be the waiting room for the Monster Ga.
As I looked around slowly, I spotted familiar faces.
The collaboration participants were chatting in small groups, and off to one side, the host of this collaboration, Kaiser, was preparing the broadcast setup.
“Oh, Laura’s here.”
Soone noticed sitting quietly. It was Sora.
“Over here, over here! Co this way.”
“Oh my, are you telling the Duke’s daughter to co over to you?”
“…No, but you could make an exception, right?”
Sora looked at , slightly exasperated, but soon ca over. That’s better.
After all, where in the world is it proper for a Duke’s daughter to be summoned?
“I don’t see Rui around. Hasn’t she arrived yet?”
“No, she’s over there talking to Hikari.”
“Hikari?”
“Yeah, Behemoth’s first-tier player.”
Sora pointed to a corner, where Rui and a VTuber I hadn’t seen before were chatting happily.
“Rui looks unusually cheerful.”
“Well… yeah? I heard they’re really close.”
“Her network is impressively vast.”
Apparently, even before we joined Leviathan, Rui already knew Valbara, Kirin, and ro. I also heard she’d already friended our team owner, Choi Gaho, on CocoaTalk, although they weren’t that close yet.
Plus, most of the other Fantasy League team mbers had collaborated with her before, and even Kaiser, the Fantasy League organizer, was said to bow his head to her.
Being a “major project VTuber,” it seed like Rui had considerable influence in the VTuber industry.
“Her network is vast, but… hmm…”
“What’s up?”
“Well, there’s sothing I want to say, but I don’t think it’s my place… Maybe you should ask Rui directly or do a little investigating.”
Sora gave a subtle nod in Rui’s direction.
Actually, it wasn’t toward Rui, but rather the person she was talking to.
“If Sora’s giving this kind of signal, there must be sothing to it.”
If she was hinting this strongly, it might be sothing that could cause problems later if I didn’t know. And seeing Sora’s cautious deanor, it must be a sensitive matter.
Could it be that Rui and Behemoth’s first-tier player were romantically involved? And maybe they broke up? Or was there so sort of love triangle?
That didn’t seem right. It probably wasn’t a romantic issue.
“My rival, Ayano Koji Sora!”
I’ll have to investigate Rui later. As I made a ntal note of this, my thoughts were interrupted by a voice.
It was Anna, one of the participants in this collaboration and, for now, our senior.
“They say you et your enemies on a narrow bridge.”
“Why are you treating like an enemy…?”
“Don’t play innocent! You promised to set up a collaboration!”
Anna was scolding Sora.
“I’ve been waiting a century for that collab with Rui!”
“It’s only been about two weeks.”
“But why are you getting all chummy with Rui!? And even with Laura! Are you trying to make die of jealousy!?”
“Anna-senpai, try holding your breath for 25 minutes.”
Now that I think about it, wasn’t the world record for holding one’s breath 24 minutes and 33 seconds?
If she could reach 25 minutes, Anna would truly beco a world champion.
Encouraging a senior to reach the top, or maybe suggesting she try so alternative thod, is a form of respect, after all.
Or perhaps, a form of affectionate mischief from a junior.
“We’re still just getting to know each other. Give it a little more ti. Once we’re closer, I’ll arrange the collaboration.”
“I’ll have to wait until my neck falls off! That’s why I suggested this collaboration in the first place!”
“Huh? You suggested this collab, Anna-senpai?”
Sora tilted her head, and Anna nodded.
“I was always getting jealous of Sora, so I figured I should try sothing different. I asked our team owner to reach out to Kaiser. Isn’t our owner just the sweetest?”
“…All I’m getting is that Anna-senpai brought massive trouble to her team.”
Sora sighed.
Is this person really a senior?
That seed to be the look in her eyes.
After a short while, the other collaboration participants arrived.
It looked like Kaiser was also finished setting up, as he stepped onto the podium.
“Testing, testing. We’ll be starting the stream shortly, so please turn off the viewer chat function.”
Kaiser gave instructions.
The ga we’d be playing today, Monster Ga, was supposedly an escape room genre.
It required us to use our wits, and getting help from viewers would obviously ss with the fairness—those with larger followings would have an advantage due to crowdsourced intelligence.
So in gas like Mafia, trivia-based gas, or TRPGs where viewers might give spoilers, it’s standard to turn off the viewer chat.
“If you could all set your broadcasts to mute for now. I’ll call on you later for introductions, and until then, feel free to chat with each other.”
Despite his rough appearance, Kaiser explained things kindly.
Once the stream began, Kaiser’s energy spiked.
“Just two weeks left until the Fantasy League’s opening! We’ve gathered the Fantasy League players here today!”
Clap clap clap.
Everyone gave a light round of applause, then introduced themselves one by one.
There were a total of eight participants in today’s collaboration.
Leviathan: Aurora, Hanabane Rui, Ayano Koji Sora
Gryphon: Son Nalim
Behemoth: Asahina Hikari, Mashina
Cerberus: Shiroki Anna, Kazama Izumi
“Co to think of it, Gryphon only has one participant.”
I voiced a thought that ca to mind during the introductions.
The other teams had two mbers each, but Leviathan had three, making Gryphon’s solo appearance stand out.
“Right? Maybe Gryphon’s mbers are busy?”
“Or maybe it’s because Kaiser’s hosting?”
Anna whispered in a low voice as she took the seat beside , even though her Cerberus teammate was sitting farther away.
“What do you an?”
“Most Gryphon mbers are part of Horizon Air. And a lot of Horizon Air’s mbers have a strict no-collaboration policy with n.”
Ah, it must be the unicorn issue.
Now that I think about it, I’d received so odd DMs from viewers recently. During Aseasoul and SEKR interactions, so told not to get involved with Choi Chang-young.
That’s not all.
After a few collaborations with Leviathan mbers, so people sent ssages like “Don’t get close to Valbara,” or “Did you do anything with Valbara?” I even received ssages saying ro is just a tramp who seduces n and that I shouldn’t associate with her.
It seems Horizon Air is particularly extre about this.
If Anna’s guess was right, then Son Nalim was in an unfortunate situation.
“And today’s ga is the Monster Ga! Are you all familiar with ‘containnt fiction’ or ‘creature features’?”
Hearing the two terms, sothing popped into my mind, and I spoke up without thinking.
“Are you talking about sothing like the SCP Foundation?”
“Exactly, Aurora. You’re all test subjects.”
“Test subjects?”
“Yes.”
Kaiser nodded.
“A research lab has captured a monster with special abilities. They brought in death row inmates as test subjects to test its abilities. However, if you manage to escape the monster safely, your sentence will be commuted.”
It’s a plot straight out of containnt fiction.
“All you have to do is escape from the lab. The issue is the monster’s abilities, but it’ll be faster to show than to explain. Hmm… Mashina and Aurora, could you both co forward for a mont?”
Hearing Kaiser call our nas, Mashina and I stepped forward.
Kaiser fiddled with the ga settings, creating a door on the spot.
A keypad lock was installed on the doorknob.
“The password is my first broadcast anniversary.”
“First broadcast?”
“Take a guess, Mashina.”
“How should I know your first broadcast date…”
Mashina started to object but quickly held back, realizing she was talking to a senior VTuber who’s been active since 2018.
Reluctantly, she entered a random code.
“Wrong answer, Mashina.”
Of course, there was no way she’d get it right.
At that mont, Mashina’s body seed to shrink a little.
Already short, her appearance now looked even younger. What had looked like a high schooler was now closer to a middle schooler.
“Laura, sis…”
“Hm?”
“Oh! No, I must be crazy! Why did I call Aurora that…!”
Hiss!
Kaiser sprayed sothing like a disinfectant at Mashina.
The spray label read ntal Decontamination Agent in large letters.
“This is the nature of the ga. It’s an escape ga, but each ti you make a mistake or fall into a trap, you progressively beco more of a ‘little sister.’”
“…What did you do to ? I must be insane to call Aurora my sister…”
“If you’ve played Aseasoul, you’d know. It’s as if the AI is influencing your avatar’s behavior.”
Kaiser explained.
“Aurora, would you like to try? It’s just the tutorial, so getting it wrong is fine.”
“Hm.”
I crossed my arms.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know Kaiser’s debut date.”
For VTubers, there are two major “money-making opportunities.” One is their birthday, and the other is their debut anniversary.
So Kaiser likely had an annual broadcast to celebrate his debut, but sadly, I didn’t know the date.
“This question’s clearly ant to trip us up.”
While it’s common to rember a close VTuber friend’s birthday, only the hardcore fans would know their debut date precisely.
Even if I asked Rui, who debuted around the sa ti, she’d probably say sothing like, “I think it was February? Or maybe January…? I don’t rember the exact date.”
No matter how good my mory is, I can’t recall what I don’t know.
“Let’s give it a try.”
Resigned, I entered an incorrect answer.
Every VTuber inevitably faces a mont when they’re made to look ridiculous. Today just happened to be mine.
【ntal Degradation Level 1】
【When addressing high-ranked survivors, words like "Big Brother" or "Big Sister" may slip in unintentionally.】
“Hm.”
A ssage appeared in one corner of my vision.
I considered calling Mashina’s na but stopped myself. I didn’t feel inclined to address my lackey with an honorific.
However, I could sense what it felt like—a sudden urge to cough or sneeze, a subtle compulsion to call soone “big brother” or “big sister.”
“How do you feel, Aurora?”
Kaiser prompted . He probably wanted to try calling soone by one of those titles.
But calling soone “big brother” felt a bit too much.
“Co to think of it, doesn’t Sina already call Vincent and Choi Chang-young ‘big brother’?”
If Sina called Vincent or Choi Chang-young while under ntal degradation, what would happen?
Would it get elevated to sothing more formal like “elder brother”? Or would she just keep calling them “big brother”?
Or would it repeat as “Vincent big brother big brother,” like a poorly made AI script? If that’s the case, it’s quite lackluster.
Suddenly inspired, I decided to test sothing.
“Oh my, Kaiser-bro. This ga’s tougher than I thought.”
“……Bro?”
“Yes, bro.”
I smiled slyly.
Turns out it works.
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