NoveLight ™
"Let’s see. About 4 hours in real time… so in VR time, it’s 12 hours. To think you earned 12 million just sitting there—well, you sure know how to make a profit."
"Stop saying weird things and sit down."
"Okay."
I sat next to Dice while watching the sun slowly dip below the horizon from the 30th floor of the SSM building, overlooking the Han River. It was 4 PM. The sun hadn’t set yet, but mentally, I was already exhausted. This was due to time acceleration.
The familiar ding from my phone, and the hologram that only I could see, announced that the deposit had been completed, signaling the end of today’s schedule.
While leisurely looking out at the view, Dice spoke up.
"You haven’t changed, have you?"
"...It hasn’t even been a year since we met, has it?"
"Well, does time really matter?"
I turned my head slightly, confused by what she said, and she continued.
"How should I put it… you’re unpredictable in some ways, but you always take responsibility to the end…"
"Ah."
"Honestly, after last year, you’ve done everything for us, so we don’t really need to worry about it anymore. But, you showing up today is..."
"Just for my own curiosity."
As she said, if I hadn’t been interested in visiting SSM today, I would have spent the day wandering around with Dice before heading home. However, with the combination of visiting the company headquarters and the possibility of some monetary gain, I was more than willing to make my way here.
As for why I agreed to teach Looming again… well, there wasn’t a deep reason. Last year during KSM, I had focused all my attention on Dice, and I hadn’t been able to teach Looming as much, so I thought it might be good to continue where we left off. It was partly a sense of responsibility, but also curiosity.
Anyway, while pondering this, Dice added something.
"But lately, that 'curiosity' thing is starting to get a bit scary. The butterfly effect is a bit much..."
"Should I start showing up at other teams?"
"You’re still as sharp as ever."
It suddenly dawned on me. What Dice was saying was that, because I had so enthusiastically supported SSM and Dice, the power balance between the teams had shifted. Of course, this wasn’t just affecting SSM—teams like Reaper Infected, Clear Sky, and Xi were also experiencing the same shift.
All of these teams were the ones that I, along with the others, had flown to the US with during last year’s final championship.
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t something I needed to worry about. I had chosen to teach, and by the time the third Final Championship was over, the issue was already out of my hands.
However, as I watched the effects unfold, I couldn’t deny my responsibility for the butterfly effect that had followed.
"So, what should I do? Help equalize the teams?"
"Oh, no. It’s actually kind of scary because you sound like you’re serious about it, so don’t do it."
"Ha-ha."
As she said, if I were to go to a team where none of my taught players were, and help equalize the team, I’d be faced with the question of whether it would really work the right way. Balancing things out, where some players do well and others fall behind, can’t exactly be called the ideal method.
That said, this was just one possible way—though I had once said in an interview during KSM that balance needed to be maintained, looking back now, it was a rather careless thing to say.
Besides, I didn’t need to act myself. Others had already started moving behind the scenes.
"For instance," Dice continued, "Reaper Infected, Clear Sky, and Xi are already collaborating with the other six teams and sharing some know-how. They’ve already sent in a ton of cash and asked for help."
"So, it seems things are moving along as expected. You didn’t share anything sensitive, right?"
"Of course not. We made sure that they can’t leak anything outside."
"Ha-ha, of course."
The "sensitive things" Dice was referring to were the combat data I had used to teach her—data that, if leaked, would trigger self-destruction protocols on her hard drive.
But the reason I asked was to check just how far the secondary data had spread.
And Dice gave me a satisfying answer.
"Just so you know, there’s almost no one who can combine theory and practice as well as you can, Yu-jin. In other words, the knowledge shared with other teams is only being passed through practical lessons. All the written curriculums are based on that."
"So, rather than forming practical applications from the data I gave you, you’ve created a theory based on what you learned?"
"Is that a problem?"
"Not really, but there might be some complications."
The reason was simple.
The combat manuals I had developed over the past five years, written with the blood of the dead, were designed purely to kill, and thus, they were intended to teach how to murder. But the theories derived from teaching professional players who learned from parts of those manuals… naturally had a different purpose.
Murder and being the best—the gap between these two goals was wider than I had originally thought, and it would only widen from here. Simply put, think about the path of light. Even a tiny deviation, say 0.000001 degrees, would make a huge difference between two photons after one second.
It was the same with combat.
"Well, that’s a relief... but, either way, cleaning up after you is my job, right? You’ve given us so much already, so I’m obligated to take care of this."
"Ha-ha."
"Now that you’ve offered to help Looming, things will get a little easier from here on out."
There was a brief silence. It didn’t seem like she didn’t have anything more to say, though. There was something else, but it was hard to get out.
After a few seconds, Dice awkwardly laughed and added:
"Well, it’s a bit late, but..."
"You mean I’m late?"
"No, not you. It’s just that the timing for helping Looming came a little late. A few days ago, I asked someone who could indirectly support him to help out."
"Ah."
Indirect help. I wondered who it could be. Several people came to mind, but quickly faded away.
It wasn’t one of the other pro players I’d traveled with during the Final Championship. Dice was busy, and those friends were just as busy. Logan and Lorentina were out of the question as well. Logan had already been assigned to Owen’s senior strike team, and Lorentina… well, she still had at least three more months before she could return to the US.
So who could it be? I couldn’t think of anyone immediately.
"So, who did you contact?"
"He-he."
A brief chuckle.
And then Dice raised her phone. Someone’s record appeared on the screen. 17 wins, 3 losses—an impressive record.
But when I scrolled up, the name that appeared was…
"...Why is Mina showing up here?"
"When you’re up against her in a full-on battle, she has a 30% chance of blowing me up. How could I not bring her?"
Harmony.
She had shown extraordinary results in the 20 scrims she’d played against the 1st team of SSM, losing only three times.
"Last year, when you were running around New York, I suggested that Harmony join SSM. But... well, you’ll let me bring a 'rookie' in, won’t you?"
"Heh."
"We haven’t seen each other for a while, but I didn’t expect SSM and us to get so closely involved in that time."
"Hehe. Well, it’s not like we’ve signed a proper contract. It’s more like what you did last year... I’m kind of an external advisor, you know."
"9 months ago, we were struggling with ammo... Ugh, don’t bring that up!"
"Stop talking about that!"
Clank!
A sharp sound rang out as Harmony, from behind Dice, used a drone camera that was hovering around her. It wasn’t one I brought from home; Harmony had finally bought one herself. She had been planning to get one after seeing me comfortably streaming outdoors with it.
Anyway, it was 6 PM. Dice, Harmony, and I were at a hotel steakhouse in East Seoul. The reason Harmony joined us was, of course, due to the conversation Dice and I had had just two hours earlier.
Whenever Harmony’s name came up, I’d contact her, and when Dice’s name came up, I’d call her. That’s how the dynamic was flowing… or so I thought. I hadn’t expected it to apply when I was off doing my own thing.
So, I sent a text asking if she could join us for dinner, and the response came back quickly.
[Harmony: I was going to play some trash games for dinner, but I guess this works as content now, haha.]
I wasn’t sure if the viewers would know, but if they did, they’d probably be bowing their heads in gratitude toward me.
Anyway, the price at this place was just as crazy as the last time I went with Logan, maybe even worse, but it wasn’t a big deal. Thankfully, the three of us had enough financial power to not really care.
To back that up, Dice spoke first.
"Wait for three years. You’ll be moving downstairs, Yu-jin."
"...Suddenly?"
"Well, then I’ll just move next door."
"Why is the place I live turning into a hotspot?"
...What are they even talking about?
Anyway, while the chatroom was full of outdated jokes, Harmony and Dice were happily grilling meat. It was a place where the staff usually grills the meat, but we had declined that service since we didn’t want the conversation to be interrupted.
The topic turned back to SSM, specifically about how Harmony ended up joining the team. To sum it up, it went something like this: while I was gallivanting around high-end restaurants in New York and Washington, Dice and Harmony had a walk in Central Park and discussed various things.
At that point, Dice said, "Harmony, at your level, you could definitely apply for SSM’s AP pro gamer role next year." Both of them took it seriously, and eventually, Dice—busy as she was—contacted Harmony to ask for her help.
This had happened three days before my visit to SSM headquarters.
"So, we decided to try a test run and scrimmed with the 1st team of SSM…"
"...And you went 17 wins and 3 losses?"
"Yep."
It’s amazing how simple it is.
Now, looking back, I’d say that the seeds I planted had really grown well. Although it’s not quite right to talk about a perfect outcome, I could see the results clearly.
The conversation naturally shifted to Harmony’s future plans.
"Do you plan on going to New York anytime soon?"
"Well, if I have some free time this year, I’ll probably try to make it to the rank for the tournament. I don’t know if I’ll make it to KSM or the Asian qualifiers yet, though."
"I can already hear the 1st team members crying about TO shortages this year."
"Haha."
What this meant was that if Harmony started taking up TO spots, it would make it even harder for the players who were working hard to get into the tournament.
Though I wasn’t too sure about it, it ultimately depended on Harmony’s decision.
So, I shifted the conversation to something else.
"Are you going to stay in the EU mode until then?"
"Ah, you’re right. I think so. I still need to catch Mecha Yu-jin. Speaking of which, I saw the battle between Mecha Yu-jin and you a while ago. I watched it carefully."
"Aah, maybe I should try the Escape from Unknown mode again when I have time."
"Just stick to what you’re good at."
"But Mecha Byam is in there too—ugh!"
The weapon officially named UES (Unidentified Enemy Suit) was, despite its official title, still mostly known as "Mecha Byam" by everyone. It was, truly, extremely popular.
Regardless, the conversation continued.
"When are we going to do a collab, Yu-jin? I hear Cato’s been rolling around with the bottom players, and I should lend a hand."
"I’m guessing if that person hears that, there’s going to be trouble..."
"But if Byam’s recruitment officer sees this, it might be too late, right?"
"…"
That was a valid point. As we laughed and joked, Cato’s fate was sealed.
I was sure the person would be running away screaming, but...
While we were flipping the meat on the grill, I added,
"I’ll cover the meal today, so eat a lot."
"Hey, I’ve got money too."
"Can you pull out a million at once?"
"Whoa."
The money provided by SSM today was entirely going toward the meat cost.