"Hic!"

Dice let out a hiccup.

Her thin coat was crumpled and dirtied from touching the ground, but she didn’t have time to care. As she slowly got up, trying to cover her mouth with both hands, others around her weren’t reacting much differently.

Some people were craning their necks, trying to get a clearer view. Others, who had been pointing in that direction, had frozen in place. Many were muttering expressions of awe under their breath. There weren’t just a few—there were dozens.

But then, a man walked out from behind Yujin. His suit, tightly shut lips, square jaw, slicked-back hair, and dark sunglasses all screamed "bodyguard." The atmosphere shifted in an instant.

The first to speak was none other than that individual.

“Is there someone in charge of the briefing or a host here?”

“Yes, there is. What’s the matter?”

“I’d like to have a word with you. Do you have a moment?”

As a discreet conversation began in a corner, Yujin casually approached. Then, upon seeing Dice, her eyes widened.

Her sharp eyes quickly softened into an arch, and her expression changed in an instant. Despite her mature appearance, she had a youthful, pure expression that only someone in their early twenties could make.

While Dice stammered, Yujin smiled slightly and walked briskly towards her. She was taller than expected—about a finger's width taller than Dice, who stood at 166 cm, putting her in the low 170s.

Yujin extended her hand, and that mature yet soft voice, the one Dice had heard countless times over the past month, floated through the air, reaching her ears again.

“You said I’d be surprised, and you weren’t lying. I thought you were a woman, but I didn’t expect you to look so much like your avatar. You really don’t look much different from how you appear in-game.”

“Uh, huh. Yujin? Is it really you? The Yujin?”

“Well, who else could it be?”

And then, a statement that cut deep.

“This… this is a nationwide scam! Who uses a VR avatar identical to their real appearance!? I was totally duped! This is ridiculous!”

“Hehe. But listening to you, you sound just like the Dice I know.”

Yujin, as calm as ever, murmured, “Well, at least since my avatar looks the same as in real life, it should make talking to me easier, right?”—a statement so absurd that it was beyond comprehension. How could anyone not be shocked when an EM-level awakened person, one of maybe 20 in the world, suddenly shows up in real life! And how could they even start a conversation?

On top of that, the fact that Yujin looked exactly like her avatar was, in essence, a national-level deception. Her avatar, despite its striking uniqueness, had a relatively modest hairstyle and color—aside from her eye color, which was a different story.

But after the denial and anger came the slow acceptance phase. Dice, who had been gripping Yujin’s shoulders and inspecting her from head to toe, finally opened her mouth.

Of course, entering the acceptance phase didn’t mean she had fully processed it yet.

“…Wow, you really are Yujin. My god…”

“How amazing is it? Pull yourself together.”

“Hic! What is this?!”

At that moment, a snake-like tail wrapped around her shoulders.

In VR, it had felt familiar, but in real life, it was a sensation she had never experienced before. It was soft yet firm, smooth but carrying an immense pressure—a long, sinewy mass of muscle wrapping around her body.

Then, it began shaking her back and forth. Yujin was shaking her as if trying to snap her out of it. It was like grabbing someone by both shoulders and giving them a good shake.

But even such a bizarre method couldn’t completely bring Dice back to her senses, so Yujin had no choice but to speak.

“How about we go for some real-world drills until you score 85 points in a shooting test?”

“Eek! No! You’re definitely Yujin! I’m sorry!”

“If you played like that during the matches, I’d have thought you were out to make things harder for me on purpose.”

…Not entirely wrong, actually.

Fortunately, that one statement was enough to completely correct the dissonance Dice had between VR Yujin and real-life Yujin. Although it wasn’t the best sign, at least the result was good.

Yujin extended her hand, and Dice cautiously reached out to shake it. Afterward, Yujin continued.

“…You said your real name is Yujin, right? My name’s Seo Ye-rin, though I’m sure you already know me as Dice. Let’s get along today…?”

“Seo Ye-rin. It’s a nice name. I’m Lee Yujin. And don’t forget, you promised to treat me to dinner tonight. I’ll be thinking about the menu. Sound good?”

“Oh, right. You remembered that. I was wondering what I should feed someone who looks like they’ve been training at the gym for ten years… Do you have any dietary restrictions?”

“Do I look like the type of person who’s picky about food?”

“Well…”

You look like the type who could gulp down raw meat like a snake.

Thankfully, that thought never made it past her throat. Her rational mind quickly shoved it back down before it could escape, which saved her from what might’ve been a painful Cobra Twist in real life.

With the distance between Seo Ye-rin and Lee Yujin successfully bridged, Yujin turned to face the remaining 78 or so people, who had been eagerly awaiting their conversation to end.

One by one, they stepped forward to greet her.

“Oh, uh! I’m Summit from TK1! It’s an honor to meet you!”

“There’s no need to be so formal. It’s great to meet you, too. I’m Yujin.”

“Do you remember me? I’m Gambit from Clear Sky. You gave me some public feedback a while ago, and I’ve been keeping it in mind ever since.”

“It’s good to see you. Are there still areas where you feel you’re lacking? We’re in the same boat for the Asia preliminaries, so if you need help, just let me know. I’ll assist you whenever I’m less busy.”

But with dozens of people still waiting to speak with Yujin, they had no choice but to form groups of five or more, resulting in a rather surreal scene of group introductions.

Eventually, once everyone in the room had exchanged greetings with Yujin, the person who had come with her finished their conversation and approached her with a few whispered words.

Yujin nodded briefly, and he stepped forward to address the room.

“I’ll be taking temporary control of the proceedings. Please proceed into the convention hall and take your seats. Once everyone is seated, there will be some information shared in private. Please bear with us. Now, if you would, please enter.”

Squeak.

The large doors to the hall opened.

Inside were about ten tables, each large enough to seat at least eight people. Above each table, the names of the teams floated, indicating where each group should sit.

Thanks to the helpful UI, it didn’t take long for everyone to find their seats. Once everyone was settled, Yujin’s companion checked the room, closed the doors, and carefully walked onto the stage, taking the microphone from the host.

After a brief mic check, he spoke.

“First of all, I apologize for the sudden confusion. The reason I’m here before the briefing begins is to request an embargo from all of you. In other words, we’re asking you not to disclose any information to the outside world. Think of it like the case with Dice.”

The key difference being that if you leaked Dice’s information, SSM’s legal team would come after you. If you talked about Yujin, a man in a black suit might show up at your house.

He managed to explain that part without sounding too menacing before continuing.

“As some of you may already know, Yujin is one of only two EM-level awakened individuals in Korea. She plans to publicly reveal her identity in about three months, so we ask that you keep this in mind.”

In other words, please don’t mention it until then.

He then changed his tone to something more upbeat.

“That’s all for now. I’d also like to congratulate all of you on making it to the Asia preliminaries. As a fellow Dark Zone user, I sincerely hope you achieve great results. Thank you for representing Korea!”

A round of applause erupted.

After handing the mic back to the host and quietly exiting, the host, now in a very cheerful mood, added with a clap:

“Now then! Congratulations to all of you who have earned the right to be here. In five minutes, we will officially begin the Asia preliminaries briefing!”

At the same time, carts started rolling in through the side doors. They were trays of refreshments. Piled high with snacks and drinks, the carts were set on the tables with remarkable precision, and after everything was neatly arranged, the staff quietly disappeared.

As I looked around in wonder, an explanation followed.

“We prepared this performance as a way to keep you entertained. Haha!”

As I sat there, a crunching sound broke the silence.

“Mmm, this is delicious.”

Yujin was the epitome of nonchalance.

Dice had to take another moment to process that fact.

Glancing around.

Then, with a sudden movement—

“Here.”

“Huh? I didn’t say anything.”

“I figured you’d eventually get flustered and ask to touch my tail later, so I thought I’d let you now. Unless you weren’t going to ask?”

“Oh, no, I wasn’t thinking about that.”

Suddenly, Yujin’s tail slipped onto Dice’s lap.

At the same time, Dice poked it with her fingers.

It was soft yet firm. The scales gleamed as if they were meticulously maintained. When she gently squeezed it, it twitched. Was it entirely muscle? It was cold and smooth. She kept pressing and examining it, but it didn’t feel the way she had expected.

In fact, the more she touched it, the more curious she became. It felt like a cold, heavy blanket draped across her lap. She wasn’t even sure if the snacks were going into her mouth or her nose.

After fiddling with it for a while, a question popped into her mind.

“…Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

“Usually, people ask to touch it sooner or later, whether fast or slow. So I just got ahead of it. When I met Harmony, she asked if she could touch it within three minutes of us meeting.”

“Ah, Harmony. You met her much earlier than me, didn’t you? Didn’t you two meet in-game within a day of starting Dark Zone? When did you meet in person?”

“You know quite well. We met in late August. Now that I think about it, it’s been a while.”

As they conversed, they listened to the host’s announcements.

Since there weren’t too many new changes compared to last year, they didn’t have to listen as intently as during the previous briefing.

“…Therefore, we’ve decided to hold the Asia preliminaries at the Esports Stadium in Yongsan, considering overall accessibility. Now, moving on to the schedule. Similar to KSM, the matches will be held on Saturdays and Sundays, and each player will…”

After KSM ended, there were about four weeks until the Asia preliminaries.

Breaking it down simply, the first two weeks would focus on individual skill improvement and maintaining condition, along with dealing with sponsorships and advertisements. The reason this took two weeks was because of the need to coordinate schedules with players from other countries.

Although this year’s preliminaries were held in Korea, players from other countries had to deal with things like visas, accommodations, and other player support elements.

Once everything was sorted, the third and fourth weeks would be filled with scrims and training. The players furthest from Korea—like those from China or Russia—had already begun arriving.

“The Asia preliminaries, as mentioned before, consist of 12 matches. Like KSM, there will be six matches on Saturday and six on Sunday. The finals follow a similar format, with seven matches each day. The only difference is that both the number of matches and the players’ skill levels ramp up.”

“What’s the finals like?”

“They’re incredible. There’s not a single weak player. But since it’s a global event, sometimes you wonder how some players from countries with less developed esports infrastructure even made it here. Still, the top 20 players… they’re insane. It’s like playing against Yujin.”

“We’ll climb higher this year.”

“It’s easier said than done. Japan has Keith, the Federation has Sahara, and Russia has Zvezda… all of them are top-tier. Taiwan, well, I don’t want to be rude, but they aren’t much of a threat.”

Mentioning the names of strong players.

Yujin didn’t ask for more details but added:

“This time will be different.”

“…Of course. Look who we’re learning from.”

“So, how about letting go of my tail now?”

“Ah, sorry! It was just so fascinating that I…!”

Dice had been petting, tugging, squeezing, and stroking the tail, even running her fingers along the scales—it was almost perverse.

Knowing full well what she had been doing, Dice blushed. With a flick of its tip, the tail lightly bonked her on the head, just as a mechanical voice echoed in her ears.

At the same time, Seo Ye-rin made an odd comment, “It’s starting.”

-[Notification: Communication with the outside world has been cut off.]

“Now, let’s begin the part of the briefing that cannot be shared with the public.”

At last, Yujin nodded in understanding and turned her gaze forward.

Now she understood why this was called a "preliminary briefing."