MTLNOVEL Chapter 21
Flame Bird Lover.
My past glory.
As soon as I saw those eight letters, a cold sweat ran down my spine.
“It’s rotten water……”
“Huh?”
……I decided not to dwell on why my (former) account name popped up here.
No way.
Is this some kind of plot where “the female characters from the world I left behind are obsessed with me”?
That can’t be.
Just being possessed by a game is already unrealistic enough.
But that deck is pretty solid.
It’s a masterpiece deck I made with all my know-how……
Dark clouds loom over the future of one-hit-and-run.
Still, the silver lining is that the group my (former) account belonged to had just undergone a “shuffle” not long ago.
What’s a shuffle?
It’s when groups are randomly mixed to prevent the old-timers from rotting away together.
In other words.
The top ranks are filled with all sorts of monsters, but the mid-tier is still a fight worth trying!
“Phew.”
Still, it’s fun to beat up bots and enjoy the sweet rewards.
Sigh.
Swallowing my disappointment.
“Focus! For our first-time visitor, let me explain the rules of the Dimension Arena!”
Through the announcer’s voice, I could better understand the difference between the in-game world and the current situation.
The battles here are fought using “clones” that replicate the appearance of the heroes.
Since they exist in different dimensions, they can’t coexist in the same dimension, blah blah blah── the announcer explained.
There was talk about paradoxes, doppelgangers, and other weird stuff, but I wasn’t interested in that kind of lore.
Conclusion.
The good news is that since we’re fighting with clones, our heroes won’t get hurt in the Dimension Arena.
The bad news is that I can’t directly command them like, “Go, Lumi-mon! Use Body Slam!”
So, I just dove into the first match to see how it goes──
[Battle Result]
[Winner: aaa] [Loser: TyniaSoftBellyButtonKingka]
[Your rank has risen to 9,532!]
“Hmm, this might work.”
I caught a glimpse of potential.
In the arena, the clones of our heroes clearly moved with their own “consciousness.”
“Yo-Hena, how did it feel?”
“Hmm. It felt like putting my thoughts into a doll and moving it? Not much different from moving my actual body. No pain, though.”
That’s a relief.
She got hit by a fireball earlier and was sizzling.
“Ari?”
“It’s a bit vague! Like imagining shooting an arrow?”
“Lumi?”
“Woof! Bite! Smash!”
Good, good.
Well done.
“……Aren’t you going to ask me?”
“Oh…… Saha, you’ve always been solid in the frontlines, so……”
“Ughhhhh……”
What’s with the deep sigh?
Anyway.
I formed a hypothesis.
With my current character pool—no, hero lineup—I can’t afford to counter or match attributes situationally.
But.
If I implant countermeasures for the tricky opponents in their minds, wouldn’t their autonomous performance improve?
“Everyone, let’s study for a bit, shall we?”
“Ehhhhhh……! The orc’s hammer costs 115 gold……! Ehhhhhh……!”
Tynia had a fit at the word “study,” but life is a continuous study.
Hard work, hard study—that’s the harsh law of society!
Don’t fall for the scam coin of “Once you get into college, you can do whatever you want” and end up bankrupt……!
*Sniff.*
Let me wipe my tears for a moment.
“You don’t have to memorize everything at once, let’s take it step by step.”
If I map out the flow of the Dimension Arena──
Choose an opponent’s deck from the list of other summoners.
Our heroes enter the waiting room to prepare for battle.
I get summoned to the summoner’s viewing room.
Finally, watch the clones duke it out.
Later, as your rank rises, you can’t see the opponent’s deck—it becomes “blind.”
But for now, I can use my brilliant mind to strategize and give instructions in advance!
*Whisper whisper.*
*Explain explain.*
“Now, Lumi. If the blue-haired swordsman raises his sword high?”
“Woof woof! Bark!”
“Good. Ari, who do you target first?”
“Yo-Hena!”
“……That feels a bit weird.”
“Ah! The fake Yo-Hena from another dimension!”
After setting up the strategy, the second match──
[Battle Result]
[Winner: aaa] [Loser: TheGodOfNormalization]
[Your rank has risen to 9,104!]
The hypothesis was perfectly verified.
Q.E.D.
Games are easy, right?
The blueprint is complete! Let’s go win!
And so, victory after victory.
“Breath of Sound! Sound Slash! That’s it! Lumi’s the best!”
“……Can you keep it down?”
“Ah…… So that’s how it is…… This is the voice of defeat……”
“Ugh……!”
……In the process, I met other summoners, and trash-talking was more fun than I thought.
I wanted to ask, “Did you also get possessed?”
But every time I tried to bring up anything related to reality, it was like a curse—nothing but goldfish noises came out.
Sigh.
Enjoy it.
Those who enjoy are the best.
* * *
“No, no…… How is this possible?”
Summoner “Producer Sun” was fuming.
He had fought countless battles in the Dimension Arena, but the scene before him was utterly nonsensical.
“Ari’s the best! Ari’s the best! They’re all dead! That’s it! From behind!”
In “Producer Sun’s” eyes, the opposing summoner—a blond young man—came into view.
It was a face he’d never seen before, but it didn’t feel out of place.
A mint-haired mechanical girl spinning a fan with gusto.
A cat-girl shouting “Chinya-pongnya-kkangnya.”
A middle-school edgelord with “gears” in his eyes.
A fool wearing a straw hat with chopsticks stuck in his nostrils.
With all sorts of collaborations from other “worlds,” the summoners’ appearances had become extremely diverse.
So, well, a guy like that could exist, he thought, accepting it.
“This is cheating!”
By all specs, it was a fight he should’ve won.
But as he watched his heroes start to lose, “Producer Sun” couldn’t help but scream.
It was a feeling of emptiness.
The voice of the Revelator doesn’t reach the clones.
Naturally, they can’t issue commands either.
Only the warriors judge, and the clones move sluggishly and fight according to the warriors’ thoughts.
They act according to predetermined patterns and logic.
“That’s right! Lumi! You should use taunt there! Nice one!”
But.
Those Revelator’s warriors, and their clones, were different.
The opposing Revelator, annoyingly fidgeting and flapping their mouth.
A voice that shouldn’t have reached them.
As if the mocking voice was somehow reaching the clones──
“Fall into hellfire──”
“Bark! Bark!”
“──.”
The way they used skills so timely and crushed their own warriors.
‘Producer Sun’ could only swallow his irritation.
“You? Are you communicating with your warriors right now? How is that possible?”
He asked, hoping to uncover the secret.
“Is that so. You don’t know…… That’s how it is. But, I have a prohibition on revealing it…… It seems it’s too early for you to know…….”
“Profit.”
Even though he only heard a few syllables, anger welled up from deep within his chest at the taunting.
“Sigh, I give up.”
[Battle Result]
[Victory: aaa] [Defeat: Producer Sun]
[Your rank has dropped to 2377!]
In the end, ‘Producer Sun’ admitted defeat.
Our angel, what are you doing?
Just trying to defend is stressing me out.
I’m so pissed, I should post on the Revelator community.
[Battle Result]
[Victory: 삣삐끼뺫엄벌기] [Defeat: aaa]
[Your rank has been maintained at 1943.]
“Ugh, tsk.”
Starting from 10,000th place──
Climbing steadily to 1943rd place.
“We lost, woof…….”
“It’s frustrating, but the difference in ability couldn’t be overturned with strategy. I’m sorry, Revelator.”
Since it wasn’t a newbie group.
Our warrior party, having just opened Direna, had its limits in climbing.
The opponent’s level was at least 60. A rank difference of more than 2 stages.
Naturally, there was a gap in equipment and skills.
Damage, skill cooldowns, and other insurmountable differences.
Unless we steadily break through the Tower, climbing will be a bit difficult for a while.
……Damn old-timers, rotten game.
If we climb a bit more, there are people who open defense decks for newbies.
Tsk.
“Good job, everyone. You must be tired? Let’s stop here for today.”
Still.
A calm and warm smile on my lips.
In my pocket, jingling, no, sloshing divine stones!
Composure creates dignity.
Climbing to around 2,000th place alone could snatch 1/3 of the first-time rank achievement rewards.
Even after chewing through attack resets.
A whopping 1300 divine stones!
Enough for 70 pulls and more!
But I firmly made up my mind after the previous incident.
Especially since if I fail to manage my expression, our Saint, Yo-Hena, gets hurt…….
“Tynia? Don’t sneak away. Time to work.”
“Devil, devil……! Master is a devil……! Tynia is hurt……!”
Let’s save enough to guarantee the ceiling.
We still have the first Tower clear reward.
Daily, weekly shop divine stones are coming in.
And Direna Mine still has 2/3 left.
…….
Ah.
I want to roll the gacha!
“……Again today.”
Revelator ‘Flame Bird Lover’ sighed.
“Revelator?”
“……Saha? Just call me by my name.”
“But, Flame Bird Lover is a bit…… for my mouth.”
Yeah, that makes sense.
It’s a bit…….
The Revelator scratched his head, looking at Saha, who was now confidently strutting around in a swimsuit.
“It’s already been 2 weeks, and still no news.”
“Yes…….”
As Saha said.
It had already been 2 weeks since the Revelator stopped hearing the angel’s voice.
This had never happened before.
Even on the quietest days.
At least 10 minutes of whispers about which direction to take.
And following those words always led to victory.
But.
Now that the angel’s voice is gone.
The Revelator has lost his sense of direction.
[WARNING: An attack has come from Dimension Arena.]
[Prepare for defense.]
“First, let’s go defend today.”
“Right.”
Actually, there’s a part I can guess.
Dimension Arena.
In the battlefield where Revelators and warriors from other dimensions duel──
The angel, along with us, attempted 84 attacks to take down the 1st place.
Defeated, and defeated again, and again──
Finally, we grasped victory.
But perhaps because we expended too much mental energy in the process.
The angel hasn’t returned since.
Looking at the four warriors gathered around Saha.
“Alright, let’s go today too.”
The Revelator, ‘Flame Bird Lover’, whispered softly.
They go to fight in the Dimension Arena.
To prove they are still the best when the angel returns.
To protect the 1st place and prove their worth.
Then.
They will meet the angel again.
Hear the voice again.
Never lose again.
No matter who the opponent is.
Even if it’s a newbie, show no mercy.
In reverence to the sacred teachings of the angel!