Chapter 91

The Olympics, the world’s greatest sports festival.

In this, the world’s most prestigious multi-sport event, what is the sport that captures people’s attention the most today?

It was VR games.

Regrettably, UA held the second-place spot, not the first, but considering when UA began and its history, it had undoubtedly achieved tremendous success in a short period.

After all, a game that was just a little over 10 years old had been adopted as a Demonstration Event at the Olympics.

Moreover, the number of participating nations that sent a National Representative for UA in this Olympics was a staggering 100-plus countries.

It was safe to say that pretty much any country you could name had formed a national team and participated.

With so many countries participating, one might expect some chaos in the schedule, but surprisingly, the VR event rarely suffered from scheduling headaches.

Unlike real-life sports that are played in rented arenas, VR sports allowed players to shake off most of their fatigue as soon as the game ended (though mental fatigue remained, of course). This made it possible to hold matches on consecutive days, or even more than one game a day—something impossible in soccer or basketball.

What would happen if a game was not only fun but also had a fast match cycle?

Let’s imagine for a moment.

It’s a game where you shoot guns.

Imagine what it would mean to people, a sport where people get shot, cry out “Ack!” as they fall, and display flashy skills and movements.

UA was a sport destined for success.

And no one got hurt in the process.

While UA officials predicted that the UA market would see explosive growth after this competition, the Japanese national team, having arrived in LA, was quietly warming up.

Their adaptation period had been shortened by a few days due to a player’s circumstances, but it wasn’t a factor that would significantly affect their Game Performance.

“The opposing countries for the Group Stage have been confirmed.”

The UA Olympics divided the participating nations into groups to play in a league format before the 32-team Main Round Tournament.

Director Ikeda announced the countries matched with Japan.

“Armenia, Egypt, and Vanuatu.”

They were unfamiliar countries.

Many people would know Egypt, but Armenia, and especially Vanuatu, were countries many had probably never heard of.

The team members seemed to think so too, as they were looking up where those countries were located.

“Unni. Armenia is in Eastern Europe. And Vanuatu is an island nation in Oceania.”

“I see. Thanks.”

Thanks to Haruna, I learned something new.

Watching the whispering Haruna, Director Ikeda began the Scouting Report.

“Truthfully, aside from Egypt, there are no countries we need to be particularly wary of. But we can’t be complacent. We must secure first place in the group to guarantee our advancement to the Main Round.”

The Group Stage was formed by dividing the countries into groups of four.

The first-place team in each group was guaranteed to advance to the Main Round, but finishing second meant you had to rely on the Set win-loss difference, making the probability of elimination higher.

From Japan’s perspective, there were no countries to be particularly wary of, but they still needed to pay a little attention to Egypt.

Egypt, belonging to the North African League, was a formidable nation that still maintained a population of 200 million.

In this era, heading toward the 22nd century, having a large population in itself meant that the nation’s potential was great.

“The player to watch out for from Egypt is Samira Nabi.”

An image of the twenty-two-year-old Egyptian player, who played the Sniper position, appeared on the screen.

“She’s a player with a very good shot. She’s fearless with long-range Drive Shots and is considered to be among the top five in all of Africa.”

Not just limited to the North African League, but being in the top five including the south meant her skills were truly formidable.

She might even be at a level not far behind Russia’s national treasure, Svetlana, whom I had faced once in Jeju Island.

A point of caution was that the new Meta had drastically increased the instantaneous Attack Power of Snipers.

“The Group Stage matches start in exactly one week. It’s going to be a very packed schedule, so manage your Condition well. I’ll let you know as soon as the analysis results are out.”

“Yes~.”

Once the Group Stage opponents were decided, the reactions of each national team varied wildly.

Teams confident in their skills enjoyed the resort city of Los Angeles, while players who had crossed the ocean with the sole determination to win stayed in their hotels and clung tenaciously to their training.

The Japanese team’s reaction was half-and-half.

Rest moderately, and train moderately.

This was the conclusion I came to, having taken on the role of Leader in Kato’s stead.

It wasn’t that I was deliberately loosening our attitude, hoping for Japan to perform poorly, or anything of the sort.

The reason I let the players rest was because I thought it would be more beneficial for the team.

The players were already in a state where they needed time to adjust to the day and night reversal.

I thought it would be more helpful to let them rest moderately rather than tiring them out with overly intense training.

And this time, the level of the participating countries, strictly speaking, wasn’t that threatening.

Director Ikeda had pointed out the opposing Sniper as a risk factor, but my opinion, after observing the videos sent by the analysis team, was a little different.

Samira Nabi’s skills were good, but in the end, UA was a team game, and I had grasped the fact that the gap between Egypt and Japan was enormous.

To be blunt, the probability of Japan losing to Egypt was barely 1 percent, if that.

Unless the Japanese players all ate something bad and got sick on that day, there was no way Egypt could beat Japan.

If this was the situation, what about the other countries?

If Japan were to lose even a single match, that would be the biggest upset of this Olympics.

‘As long as we adjust to the time difference, there are no variables.’

With that judgment, I decided I should just go to the hotel and get a good night’s sleep.

Kato was the same.

After our brief conversation on the plane, Kato had been as quiet as if she were hibernating.

Even when she occasionally woke up, she would just go back to sleep as if nothing had happened.

I wondered if a person could sleep for so long, but it didn’t seem to be a major problem, so I didn’t disturb her sleep.

Just as I was about to head back to my room for a nap, news came that I had a visitor.

“Unni. You have a visitor.”

“Who? For me?”

“Yes. It’s someone who came last time.”

A visitor who had come before. I had a feeling.

Sure enough, as I was vaguely guessing the visitor’s name, Haruna gave me the answer.

She said the exact same name I was thinking of.

“It’s Seo Dami.”

Seo Dami, dressed in short shorts and a T-shirt, sat on a chair in the hotel Lobby, wiggling her toes.

Spotting her, Han Youngin found the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Seeing her after so long made him want to play a prank.

Han Youngin strode over and sat across from her, and Seo Dami’s eyes widened into circles.

“Hello.”

Seo Dami quickly bowed her head and greeted him first.

Han Youngin looked at her and spoke in a rather cold tone.

“Didn’t I tell you not to come looking for me?”

As he imitated Kato, Seo Dami immediately became restless and said, “I just came to deliver this,” pulling out a letter.

Han Youngin knew at once what kind of letter it was.

He had sent a letter via Super Sylph last month.

It was a letter checking in, saying things like, I’m doing well, so don’t worry too much and I hope you’re playing well. But are you not focusing on the game lately?

When sending the letter, Han Youngin hadn’t expected to receive a reply so quickly.

It was a letter from overseas, and fan mail usually took some time to reach a player’s hands.

Anyway, the fact that Seo Dami had brought a reply meant the letter had arrived safely.

It seemed she had considered mailing a reply to the Kamui Team House but figured it would be faster to see me in person here in Los Angeles and deliver the letter.

“…Then please take good care of my Oppa.”

Placing the letter on the table, Seo Dami tried to leave in a hurry.

Watching her, Han Youngin made a sound like, “Ahem!” and then asked, “Have you eaten?”

It must have been a little strange for him to suddenly use informal speech, but Seo Dami answered promptly.

“Not yet. I was going to eat with my unnis when I get back.”

“Ah, you’re the youngest on the national team this time, right?”

“Yes. You… know that well?”

At her words, Han Youngin just grinned without a word and suggested they eat.

“You’ll probably feel awkward eating when you get back anyway, so just eat with me before you go.”

“……?”

Seo Dami, seemingly unable to grasp the situation for a moment, blinked her eyes several times before asking a beat later, “Oppa…?”

“I’m disappointed in you, Seo Dami. You’re only recognizing me now.”

“Is it really you, Oppa?”

“As if Kato would ask you to eat with her.”

“It’s my Oppa…!”

Seo Dami rushed over and hugged Han Youngin tightly.

Han Youngin tried to stop her, saying, “Hey! What if someone sees,” but she paid him no mind and expressed her intense delight.

“I missed you so much!”

“Wait, wait, wait.”

“……?”

When Han Youngin pushed her away, she blinked as if to ask why.

“First, you need a scolding.”

“Why…”

“What’s with your gameplay? You can do better than that.”

As he had written in the letter, Han Youngin hadn’t only written nice things to Dami and Yunseuli.

During his time with Team Kamui, whenever he had free time, Han Youngin mainly watched Super Sylph’s matches.

It was to find and analyze their problems and relay them to the girls, even though he was far away now.

The scoffing laughter from Kato during that process—Pfft!—was an added bonus.

<You think you can beat our team with kids like these? Tell them to wake up.>

Kato’s words weren’t entirely wrong.

After spending time with Team Kamui and experiencing the players firsthand, the skill gap between Super Sylph and Team Kamui was much larger than he had thought.

That was why Han Youngin had written the letter with even more sincerity.

Super Sylph, and Dami and Yunseuli.

If they didn’t work hard, his own Soul might be torn apart at the end of the year…!

“Let’s talk about the game while we eat.”

“Okay…”

What she thought would be a cozy meal after a long time turned out to be a meal in name only; it was no different from a game Feedback session.

And so, Seo Dami had to listen to Han Youngin’s nagging throughout the entire meal.

Of course, even that time was precious to Seo Dami, so she took Han Youngin’s advice to heart, not missing a word.

So that one day, she could bring him back to Korea.

For that goal, Seo Dami vowed she could do it, no matter how hard it was.

The Olympics began with the opening ceremony.

At this moment when the eyes of the world were focused, UA finally took the stage.

-I’m not interested in UA, so I’ve never watched it.

-Shall we see how fun it is?

-It’s a game where you shoot guns? People don’t actually die, right?

Surprisingly, among the Olympics Viewers, there were tons of people who didn’t know what kind of game UA was, or that it was a VR Game.

When the match started and people got shot and dropped like flies, there were even some who were shocked, asking if they had actually died.

But that was only for a moment. Though it had only been a short time of one or two days, the number of people talking about UA began to increase explosively.

First, the fact that the rules were intuitive worked as an advantage.

Usually, the side that lands their shots well and scores more points wins, so it was easy for first-time viewers to tell which side had the advantage.

And the game itself was quite fun.

An article even came out saying that the number of people who created new accounts, saying they wanted to try it after watching the Olympic matches, had increased by several million in a single day.

As people’s interest grew, the national teams became even more fired up to advance to the Main Round.

The desire to make an impression and spark a UA craze in their home countries must have played a part.

-They say Japan and Egypt are playing soon.

-So what?

-Japan is a strong contender to win the UA women’s division in this tournament.

-Really? Then I’ll have to watch and see how good they are.

And as Japan’s match approached, the interest grew even more.

Japan, called the world’s strongest.

Furthermore, the fact that Japan had unusually drawn most of its players from a single team was receiving a lot of attention.

It was a Starting Lineup that prioritized team synergy over the individual prowess of the players.

-A team like this is rare.

-Usually, it’s more destructive to form a national team by gathering five players with outstanding skills.

-Does that mean they’re that confident?

-I don’t know.

-Maybe even Japan will be humiliated…?

People’s reactions were split.

This was because the performance of countries that had previously selected their national teams with an emphasis on synergy had not been very good.

But Kamui would be different.

This team is the real deal. They’re the world’s strongest, after all—such opinions were not few.

-I wonder who will show what kind of performance.

With everyone’s eyes focused on them, the players entered the Arena.

A historic stadium that opened in 1923.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

It was a place that mainly hosted track and field events whenever the Olympics were held.

In the center of the Arena, Access Devices for logging into UA were set up, and as the players approached, the people sitting in the Spectator Seats gave them a fervent round of applause.

They were mostly Americans, and various Spectators from overseas who came to see the Olympics were also in their seats.

The Arena’s seats were not completely full.

Rather, empty seats could be easily found.

The reason for this lay in the way the VR event was conducted.

In the case of UA, although the players actually entered the Arena, the game itself was ultimately played on a special Server through the Access Devices.

In other words, what did this mean?

It meant that the fans currently sitting in the Arena’s Spectator Seats had to watch the match through a large screen.

Since that inevitably reduced the sense of being there live, in the case of Olympic VR events, it was more common for people to buy separate tickets and watch from In-Game.

That way, the Arena was bigger and it was more thrilling.

However, as if the UA Association was conscious of this, they showed consideration for the audience by conducting the pre-match and post-match interviews offline.

The players from both teams who entered the Arena lightly shook hands as they passed by, then sat in their seats.

It was time for a brief interview before they were to Log In.

“Kato Mikane. It’s good to see you again after the World Championship.”

“Hello.”

Rich Nelson, a famous Caster from the World Championship, was the first to ask Kato a question.

“You’re playing your first Group Stage match against Egypt. How are you feeling?”

“Hmm. I don’t know? I want to finish it quickly and go get snacks with the girls?”

The Spectators clapped and laughed at the composure shown by Kato Mikane.

“Aren’t you a little too relaxed? By any chance, were there any snacks you enjoyed in LA?”

“Ah, the cheeseburger was delicious, and the tacos were delicious too. The hot dogs and sandwiches were also good. Oh! And I can’t leave out the California rolls.”

-This one knows how to eat.

-You better win.

The citizens of LA watched Kato’s interview with proud expressions.

On the other hand, the Egyptian players, who were treated as nuisances pushed aside even for snacks, looked extremely displeased.

Noticing the Egyptian team’s reaction, the Caster cautiously glanced at them and then threw a sharp question.

“You’re aware that UA fans are paying close attention to this match, right?”

“Yes. I know.”

“Your opponent is still the powerhouse of North Africa, Egypt. Do you have any special tactics prepared?”

“As a matter of fact, before the Group Stage, I took a look at what kind of Game Performance these players have.”

“Yes. And how were they?”

“The skill gap was so huge, I wondered if there was any need to prepare separately?”

At Kato Mikane’s words, a loud murmur rose from the Spectator Seats.

They were wondering how she planned to handle the aftermath if she lost after making such a strong statement.

“Nonsense!”

Unable to hold back, Samira Nabi huffed and shot back a word.

Of course, it was true that Japan was strong, but she was not one to endure such an insult.

However, Kato shrugged her shoulders as if she had been waiting for this reaction.

“It’s not nonsense. If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you in the game. We’re going to use the exact same tactic we used in the last World Championship Finals today.”

“…What did you say?”

At those words, not only Samira Nabi but also the Caster were quite taken aback.

It was only natural, as last year’s World Championship tactic had long since become an incredibly outdated tactic by Pro League standards.

The change in the Meta.

With the appearance of new skills, there had been considerable changes in the UA League.

It was the same now as it was then that players with good aim and high Stamina had an advantage, but compared to the past, the Tempo had quickened and there were more variables.

And yet, Kato was now saying she would defeat Egypt using the exact same strategy as in the past.

The Caster tried to add a few words to smooth things over, but…

“It won’t be exactly the same, right? Uh, countermeasures for the Debuff, or some revisions and improvements…”

“It’s exactly the same. I haven’t changed a single thing. Because we can win even if we do it the same way. That’s what we decided.”

By the time she said this, the Egyptian players had all stood up from their seats, fuming, saying they should stop the interview and just play the game already.

Naturally, the atmosphere at the venue heated up in an instant.

People watching on TV were busy eating popcorn, wondering what on earth was going on.

As the atmosphere before the match reached a fever pitch, the Caster, Rich Nelson’s, eyes sparkled.

‘That’s Kato Mikane for you! Just like the UA’s biggest star! Is she now the world’s best at Mic Work, too?’

No matter how high a team’s chances of winning were, who would dare to give such a bold interview on a grand stage like the Olympics?

She had even raised expectations to the max by declaring she would play with a self-imposed handicap and still beat Egypt.

If she failed, it would be a huge embarrassment, but if she succeeded, it was a chance to leave a powerful impression in the minds of fans all over the world.

“Then, as everyone wishes! We will start the game right now! Players from both teams, please enter the game!”

The game began with a Roar.

Kato Mikane walked confidently toward the Access Device.

And watching her, the ‘real’ Kato Mikane quietly opened her mouth.

<You didn’t have to go this far. What was the reason for the Provocation?>

The person who had taken the mic in Kato’s place and thoroughly riled up the Egyptians wasn’t her, but Han Youngin.

Kato was extremely curious about the reason, and Han Youngin gave an unexpected answer.

‘To help you.’

<……?>

Kato Mikane still wore a look of complete confusion.

Having logged into the game, Han Youngin said as he warmed up.

‘Just watch for now. If things go well, you might be able to stay in Japan.’