Chapter 108 - Preliminary Results
"Let me introduce myself again—I'm Lotta. Sorry for teasing you like that, okay?"
"N-No, not at all… Um, I'm Sora, Haru's partner. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lotta-san."
Lotta returned Sora's bow with a smiling, "A pleasure to meet you too, Sora-chan," before turning his gaze to me, seated beside her.
"To have a partner after just over a month of playing… I'm impressed. It seems you've had quite the thrilling adventure."
"Even I have to admit, it's been a journey full of turmoil."
And every bit of it led to the miracle of meeting her on the day I first dove into this virtual world.
Thinking of it that way fills me with emotion—no, it’s a level of fortune that can't simply be expressed with words. I'll be sure to savor it.
"Judging by those leather gloves and boots, am I right to assume you're a combat-build player too?"
"Yes, um… I-I'm a swordsman!"
Sora's enthusiastic reply to Lotta's question was, hold on a second, just adorable. Right… this is what she’s been dreaming of…!
I recalled the days of her admirable struggle, even if it was just for three days, that had turned her into a rather gloomy version of herself. No, seriously… she’s really come so far.
"I see. A girl like you becoming a swordsman in just over a month… It seems you've had quite a story on your end, too, haven't you?"
Hey, why are you looking at me?
"Sora-chan, is there a reason you didn't participate with Haru this time?"
I couldn't just go spilling the beans about Sora's various circumstances, and Lotta probably didn't intend to pry anyway.
After I vaguely averted my gaze, he turned his attention back to Sora. She answered his question, still showing a hint of nervousness.
"I've been a little busy in the real world… and even if I weren't, I never even considered participating in the Four Pillar War myself."
"Not interested in PvP?"
"It's not that… it's just, I'm not as belligerent as Haru."
Hey, I'm not that belligerent… I just enjoy combat as a core part of the game, that's all. Seriously.
"So it's not that you don't want to participate. For example, what if it meant entering with your partner?"
"Uh… um, well…"
What's this? That was an uncharacteristically hesitant stammer. It felt less like she was lost for words and more like—hmm, I see.
"My apologies. I didn't mean to press you like that."
It seemed Lotta, just like me, had managed to grasp what was on Sora's mind. He offered a single apology, smiling to brush his own question aside.
As Sora responded with a flustered, "No, not at all—", her interrogation time came to a close. Lotta turned back to me, finally showing signs of getting to the main topic.
"Alright, we've strayed quite a bit… Haru, shall we talk about what comes next?"
"Yeah, please do."
The original reason for this meeting was for him to lecture me on the procedure now that I'd passed the selection prelims.
We took a massive detour thanks to some goofball's shenanigans, but Lotta, who was apparently quite serious when it came to his duties, took the helm.
"Having passed the first selection preliminary, you would next move on to the second preliminary… where you would have a one-on-one match with another player who also passed the first round. That's how it's supposed to work."
"The way you put that makes it sound like I won't be following that 'supposed to' path."
Lotta's sudden ominous tone earned him a suspicious glare from me. In response, he raised his hands as if to say, "What are you talking about? It's obvious."
"Of course not. Making you do something like that would be completely meaningless."
As he spoke, one of his raised hands summoned a system window. Lotta glanced over its contents and broke into that cheerful grin I was starting to get used to.
"It's been almost thirty minutes since the prelims began. Results from other blocks are starting to trickle in, but… well now, do you really think there's any other block that was dominated by a single player in just seven minutes?"
"…There might be, you know?"
It's not that I felt anything in particular about it, but having it emphasized like that just felt… awkward.
I couldn't bring myself to boast, so my response was lukewarm, a stark contrast to him. In fact, Lotta seemed to be enjoying my battle record more than I was, looking quite pleased at the preliminary results displayed on his window.
"First Selection Preliminary Block 89 Qualifier: [Haru] — Kill Count: 65, Kill Assists: 6."
"…"
"Wow…"
As he read the results out with particular relish, I averted my eyes in silence. Beside me, Sora let out a faint sigh, as if at a loss for words.
"Do you really think there's any other player who achieved such an outstanding record all on their own?"
"…U-Um, if Haru is number one, what was the record for the person in second place?"
While I was trying to figure out what to say, a question flew from Sora, who seemed genuinely curious.
"If we're only looking at the kill count, the next highest is a player with 13."
Lotta added with a merciless laugh that they'd overextended and gotten themselves killed.
Incidentally, the exact time until the battle concluded in my Block 89 was 7 minutes and 12 seconds. The next fastest block apparently finished in about 26 minutes.
"…Look, I get that I produced a weird result, so could we please move on?"
No matter how you slice it, this conversation just keeps leading to praising me.
I appreciate the expectations and the compliments, and I'm happy to see Sora looking proud, but…
When people lay the praise on this thick, it throws me off my game. I'm just not used to being showered with compliments.
"Well, because of all that, you'll be treated as a seed for the second preliminary round. Your next stage will be the main selection tournament."
"The main tournament… a one-on-one tournament format, right?"
That's what Kagura-san and Nia told me, at least.
"That's correct. Are you familiar with the general outline?"
"Yeah, a senior player explained it to me."
Although it was called a tournament, it wasn't a system where those who won automatically moved up.
Winning successive matches in the tournament was a way to create more highlights for yourself. The further you advanced, the more opportunities you had to make an appeal, and in the end, the players who caught the eye of 'the Committee' would be selected as members for the main Four Pillar War.
"For this Four Pillar War, Istia has set 150 slots for the 'vanguard' role. The number of participants in the main tournament, including the 50 or so from the prelims, will be around 600… so, simply put, about one in four will be chosen."
"One in four, huh…"
Is that a lot or a little…
"Let me give you a word of warning, precisely because I have high hopes for you—don't use the preliminaries as your benchmark. While the other players who came up from the prelims might be one thing, you should assume that those who entered the main tournament directly are on a whole other level."
His serious expression made me straighten my back instinctively.
"Uh… so, should I just assume everyone is about as strong as you?"
For my part, I asked that question in all seriousness…
"—…Hah ha! I don't know what kind of misunderstanding you have, but…"
Hearing my question, Lotta burst into laughter as if he'd heard the funniest thing in the world.
"You have to go in assuming they're all opponents that someone like me wouldn't even stand a chance against. If you don't, you're done for."
There wasn't the slightest hint of a joke in the tone of his voice as he declared something so terrifying.
Lotta-san. Top tier, but at the very bottom rung.