Chapter 10: Shining Dancer (Part 1)
After the class meeting, Asuka went to the student council room as usual. Meanwhile, Ryuto and his companion went to the activity room of the so-called "Special Order Department." Despite the fancy name, it was just a regular classroom with some basic facilities, but it was sufficient.
Since they were just there to observe, they didn't pay much attention. But after learning about the whole story, Hiyori expressed her lack of understanding yet still decided to join, with the intention of providing better protection, or so she said...
In summary, the Special Order Department now had two members, and there was a somewhat gloomy atmosphere. Well, it was probably just an illusion. After that, they went straight home.
Ryuto stopped by the shopping street to buy a new game. On the way back, he noticed that a road was under construction, even though it was fine just a few days ago. He had no choice but to take a detour. Subconsciously, he glanced at the construction team. Although they were all wearing helmets, there was clearly a woman among the group of men, working just as hard as them. Even though she was a girl, she was not inferior at all when it came to work.
Tomboy, it seemed like the times were moving forward. From this angle, Ryuto could only see a part of her profile, and he didn't really recognize her. But well, he didn't know many people in the real world to begin with, so he didn't pay much attention.
The scene shifted to Ryuto's room. Due to various troubles recently, his reading and gaming time had decreased significantly. Faced with stacks of manga and numerous newly released games, Ryuto was now using the limited time he had to catch up.
At this moment, a message box suddenly flashed. It seemed like someone had sent a message.
"Why haven't I seen you online for so long?"
"Well, I've been busy with various things."
Ryuto replied like this. Although they were exchanging messages, Ryuto had never seen the other person before. Of course, nowadays, it was possible to video chat online, but the other person never mentioned it, and Ryuto didn't pay much attention to it. Currently, they only knew each other online.
Honestly, not only did Ryuto not know the person's name, but he didn't even know their gender. Although the profile showed that it was a woman, how many people actually bothered to provide accurate information these days? There were plenty of people with different identities online, but Ryuto didn't really mind.
"You haven't been online for such a long time, and it's been so boring. Other players are all so weak. No matter how I play, I can't accumulate experience. It's only interesting when I compete against you."
"..."
Yes, as the person (since their gender was unknown, I can only refer to them as "the other person" here) said, their skill level was exceptionally high. This reminded Ryuto of the first time they met online. After such a long time, the other person hadn't changed their username. Well, Ryuto was the same...
He remembered that he was browsing a forum at the time when he saw someone saying how amazing a player named "Shining Dancer" was in a certain shooting game, how they were godlike and amazing. After investigating, he found out that it was a game where the goal was to kill as many zombies as possible in a certain scene. Out of curiosity, Ryuto decided to download the game.
He recalled that "Shining Dancer" seemed to be in a player versus player match against the other person. They had just defeated a well-known foreign player who was at a similar level, although Ryuto had no idea who that person was because he was a shut-in. The process was completely one-sided. Even though the foreign player was skilled and quickly increased their number of kills, Shining Dancer moved flawlessly, as if they were dancing. There was no pause in their movements. Thinking back now, could this be the origin of the username? In the end, Shining Dancer decisively won with a huge score difference.
They were really amazing, not because the foreign player was weak, but because this person was just too strong, to the point of being abnormal. Ryuto, who watched from the sidelines, couldn't help but sincerely admire them.
