Chapter 199: Talk Backstage
———Lerim———
<10: 38 am>
“You definitely put on a show. It’s gotta take some real restraint to not give you the bonus we mentioned.” The orange-haired girl said with a smug smile. “Anyway, you could technically go home at this point. We can send you the payment whenever we want. You could also stay and enjoy the endless food for the whole day, if you want.”
“I’m gonna stay. I might as well use today as my cheat day.” The diet of monster meats has been getting extremely repetitive even if they are plenty nutritious and I can easily burn off a lot of calories each day if I overindulged. I miss simpler and unhealthy food. Haven’t had anything like that for quite a while.
I then press on the screen in front of me and summon a bunch of food to the table. I could really use a meal after that exhausting fight. They weren’t kidding about not needing to hold back.
It’s been a good while since I need to push my limit. It’s actually rather refreshing being exhausted due to the difficulty of a fight rather than it being due to the slog of traveling and navigating.
Mhmm… Ice cream and chocolate. I really do miss desserts. There isn’t a single monster I could make desserts out of. It’s a shame there isn’t a cacao monster or something. I also checked and none of the cow-adjacent monsters produce milk. There’s just nothing sweet I can get out of those animal-like monsters. Plant-like monsters are extremely rare as well.
…Do bee monsters exist? Would honey even exist in that case if cow monsters don’t have milk… I’m getting sidetracked. Let’s just eat and enjoy.
“Hey, you two, are you done staring into each other’s eyes? Just because the yellow one isn’t here doesn’t mean you two can be weird uninterrupted.” Rico called out to the next pair of fighters, one with cyan hair and eyes, and the other one with red hair and eyes. “Look, your round is gonna start in a few minutes. Go grab your stuff and get out there already.”
I can’t quite hear what those two said, but they do look rather unsatisfied with being called out.
It’s none of my business what they’re doing anyway. For me, I’m just gonna lay low and watch from the sideline. My job is already done for today.
Looking around, there are two other pairs of fighters present, though there is only a single pair that includes people I recognize, and there might be more people involved that I don’t know about. Even though I am supposedly in the backstage where all the magic happens. It still feels like there are a lot of things about this place that might never be uncovered. I still feel left out, which is only natural, and yet it is odd that they never even tried to address me with concerns of any secrets leaking out. They seem a bit… off-handed, with how this was being done. Just one phone call and a meeting late at night before the day of the opening was apparently enough.
“Hey, can I sit here? You really look like you could use some company.” While in the middle of my thoughts. Wiina decided to come over and talk to me instead of her opponent, who is covered in a black cloak and has a katana by their side. Have I seen that person somewhere before?
“Sure.” I said, not really sure what else I should really say. She sat down and there wasn't even any food or drinks with her outside of a glass of water.
“Hope you haven’t been feeling overwhelmed. Your hometown is rather modest and probably never seen anything quite like this.” She remarked as a conversation starter.
“I can adapt fine enough.” I replied before I continued eating. I’m not really sure what the point of this conversation even is. I just know that she probably won’t like it if I keep my mouth shut the entire time.
“That’s good to hear. Compared to other eccentric characters or people already familiar with this place, you are a bit of an outlier in terms of shared characteristics.” She said while staring at me. “Can’t imagine you actively get involved with all of this besides monetary incentive. You always seem rather down to earth.”
“Are you trying to say something?” I asked, just so she can get to the point.
“Nothing in particular. I’m just wondering if my assessment of your character isn’t outdated. I got a lot of things to do and one thing I can’t really skim out on is make sure no one I know is a threat.” She said and squinted her eyes, still staring at me. Just what could possibly cause her to be paranoid? Or is that just another excuse? There’s no reason for me to believe that that’s the main reason, since she always seems quite confident, and she’s clearly very powerful.
“Quite a paranoid one, aren’t you?” I remarked as I looked at the red and blue duo walking out into the main stage.
“One could never be too prepared. Having two plans shouldn’t be the end of it.” She said, sounding like she was steering the conversation elsewhere. “Anyway, I do hope you aren’t getting deadly curious about this place. They might seem apathetic, but they are a ruthless bunch.”
“I know to pick my objectives carefully. I don’t really have the luxury that you have.” I don’t even have the desire to look into this place further, even if it feels so futuristic and advanced for something that exists in a relatively small town. No rhyme or reason for it to suddenly appear. It’s like the whim of a god, just suddenly feeling like it should be here.
“Hmm… I suppose that’s true. I have a bunch of free time to do whatever I want.” She said in a rather dismissive way. “Along with the money from that gig in Karra’s stream, I bet you’re pretty well-off for a few years at this point.”
“...You know about that?” I’m a bit surprised, even if it makes some sense. She does have contact. In fact, it’s like Kara has her on speed dial.
…I just realized that her online and actual name is barely any different. Is there even a difference in pronunciation?
“Of course. It doesn’t take a genius to know. What other blonde swordswoman does she even know anyway? Her network isn’t that large.” She said with a somewhat joking tone. “Not to worry. It won’t matter much if I know. You probably suspect that I already do anyway.”
She’s not wrong about that. Still, I hope not too many people picked up on it. The guild is already making me work my ass off because of how much weaker everyone else is in comparison. Even if I got compensated for it it still feels like I’m working for free.
I’d rather not have my name out there for something unrelated to how beautiful I look. I didn’t dedicate my life to a healthy and cheap lifestyle only for the thing I am known for to be being really strong, and even though that is correct, there are also stronger people out there. If I’m only known for that then I’d be quickly overshadowed.
“By the way, what is your affiliation with this place?” I asked, since it seems like she is expecting me to say something.
“Nothing important. I lived here, they hired me to do a few jobs like setting the place up. There’s nothing special going on.” She said with a flat tone. Sounds… suspicious, but I probably shouldn’t press her on that, especially as I’m not even a resident here.
“I see…” I said to express some skepticism, but nothing more than that. Antagonizing someone of her caliber would only invite trouble.
Meanwhile on the monitor we can see the fight happening outside. It looks rather even in terms of matchup. I guess the cyan one has the advantage, he seems to be in more control as the fight goes on. The place being filled with obsidian is a weird choice. It does make the two fighters pop out more, aside from the red one’s black coat making him blend in a little bit.
They are way more conservative with their attacks and the scenery isn’t completely destroyed two minutes in, actually using the terrain instead of just power through it like we did.
That fight aside, I haven’t seen the dog guy for a while now, had he left already?
“They’re certainly more modest in their approach. Not that it is a bad thing, we need some variety to keep things interesting.” Wiina said, noticing my eyes darting towards the screen.
“...Say, who was that dog guy that I fought anyway? He seems very closed off and now he’s nowhere to be seen.” I asked, since I don’t really have anything else of note to talk about.
“Oh. Him. You know about EX-VR?” …That virtual reality game?
“Yeah? I haven’t played it though.” Even if it’s extremely cheap relative to other consoles it doesn’t change the fact that it is still a lot of money for entertainment, especially one I’m not interested in.
“Figures. Anyway, he was one of the top players in that game. In fact, his current appearance is the same as his in-game avatar.” So a nerd. I wouldn’t expect someone like that to be decently strong. Not as much as me, but he did give me real trouble.
“I’m surprised that someone who plays games all day is that strong.” It’s rather illogical. I’d imagine someone like him to be extremely weak.
“He probably played a lot less and focused on building his strength after the Eclipse. Here’s the thing, that game is very special. I could go on for hours about what it’s like, but to put it simply, it’s a world so close to our own that something reflects back on yourself in this world.” …I’m having a hard time following what she’s saying. “To put it simply, it’s a place for you to gain knowledge and gather your thoughts. You can actually practice magic inside that world and the experience will partially carry over, and with the accelerated time you get a lot of time to practice without worry.”
“...That’ll explain all the crazy spells he was pulling off.” I was wondering where he got the time to practice something as precise as a reflection spell. “How does he even lose with that kind of advantage? I don’t have what is effectively a training ground.”
“EX-VR can temper your mind but not your body. It’s like having all the abilities in the world but not the physical requirements for any of it. He might be skilled in a sense, but his supposed experience isn’t a good representation of his raw power.” She explained. I see…? “Training inside EX-VR can improve your power output to be certain, which would result in what looks like a stronger opponent at first glance. It’s simply optimizing and making the best use of what is already there. It doesn’t increase the ceiling.”
“...Uh huh.” Feels like this isn’t quite the end of what she is talking about.
“He probably never fought anyone on his level before until now. From what I know he doesn’t really show his face in public too often, probably afraid of overstepping, which I can’t blame him for. It feels like anything could happen if you let your mind wander off for a bit too long.” She keeps talking. “Quite unlike you. You certainly have put yourself in danger more than a couple of times, and are fighting things that are actually on your level quite often as well, probably more than you were expecting, considering your attitude.”
“Of course you know that.” I said before pushing the food tray away.
Hopefully she doesn’t keep me company for too long. I always get self-conscious whenever people see me eat.