Chapter 424 - The Official Event
All of us who were involved in the subjugation of the [White Throne] had one thing in common.
Dragged down by a deep sense of accomplishment and exhaustion, we had all been only half-paying attention to a certain matter... or rather, our stance was more along the lines of, "We're dead tired, deal with it later."
That matter was the 'Starry Paradise'—none other than Arcadia's first-ever world event, unlocked by the defeat of two 'Colored Monsters.'
This "official event," announced to all players alongside the news of the successful conquest of [Tsarkalv of the White Throne], had initially left every single person tilting their head in confusion.
The reason was simple: there were only two pieces of information listed on the event board, accessible from the system window.
One was the event name: 'Starry Paradise.' The other was a countdown clock, ominously ticking away the time.
The timer was set for a little over a week. It was scheduled to hit zero at exactly 9:00 PM in real-world time—and while we could guess what that meant, there was absolutely no information regarding the event's actual content.
That was another reason why the raid members, who had a mountain of other things to focus on, had decided to put 'Starry Paradise' on the back burner. However, the developers did release an announcement on the night of the reveal.
It was a truly spectacular, ridiculously over-the-top announcement... but for better or worse, it was just one of many bombshells related to the [White Throne]'s defeat, so the immediate reaction wasn't as massive as one might expect.
More accurately, everyone was probably just confused about how to react.
And who could blame them? The announcement stated that we were to engage in a survival challenge lasting one hundred and twenty-six hours inside the virtual world, all within a real-world time frame of just one hour.
Time in Arcadia flows at a rate 1.5 times faster than reality. Therefore, a day in that world is thirty-six hours, not twenty-four, which means the event period would be three and a half days.
But again, the time required in the real world was only one hour.
Out of nowhere, they hit us with a time acceleration of over one hundred times. It was an insane development without any foreshadowing... but there had always been a strong theory that 'the 1.5x acceleration rate is not due to the limitations of the [Arcadia] hardware,' so it was, well, digestible.
Actually, no, it's not digestible, but the very existence of a virtual world is a full-body dive into fantasy, so it all evens out. I don't get it, but I get it.
After all, they have technology like thought-acceleration skills that mess with an individual's perception of time, so most people probably expected that there was more to time acceleration technology than we had seen.
Any immediate concerns that might pop up—like whether our brains could withstand such a hundred-fold acceleration—were clearly going to be answered with a nonchalant 'No problem.' Our all-powerful Outer Brains would surely handle it somehow.
And so, the concept of 'three nights and four days in one hour' was accepted by the public with relative ease. Well, the public was in an uproar, but the players, accustomed to the absurdities of that world, largely just took it in stride with a 'Yeah, that sounds about right.'
—Now, the real issue at hand was the premise of the event.
'Starry Paradise,' billed as the first official event, was being set up on a scale so beyond 'extra-large' that it could only be described as infinitely massive and utterly insane.
To put it simply, the gist was this: form a 'team of two,' regardless of factional alignment, and survive on the event stage, 'Alvniclo, the Mirrored Celestial Sphere.'
What made this so insane was the area of the stage and the method of transportation to it. That was the real, major, massive problem.
The ridiculously named 'Alvniclo, the Mirrored Celestial Sphere' was said to have the same area as the 'Garden of Divine Creation.' The event would begin with pairs of registered players being teleported to this infinite stage.
Yes, teleported—to a completely random location across the entire, insanely massive area, just like in the [White Throne] raid.
If you were unlucky, you might end up in a true two-person survival situation without ever encountering another player. As a result, a fervent search for the 'best partner' had begun all across Arcadia.
It was a given that the number of participants would be enormous. Thus, the virtual world was already buzzing with players looking ahead to the event, now only four days away.
—To be honest, I had absolutely no reason to agonize over my choice of partner, which was another reason why I had been so nonchalant and overconfident about this event.
If I was asked to select a partner, there was only one person I would choose, no matter what. That, at least, was a certainty that no one could argue with.
Which is why... which is precisely why,
"—Shall we go separately this time?"
In the clan room, which was becoming our regular hangout, the moment those words came from my partner herself, I was hit with the biggest shock of the century and nearly buckled at the knees.
"Wha, ah, huh... umm............ Hm? Hey, did I... do something..."
...to make her mad? I tried to ask, but I was so shocked—more shocked than I thought possible—that the words wouldn't come out right.
I mean, I might anger her frequently, but I don't think I've done anything to genuinely upset her. I thought we were both on the same page, that it was all just playful banter.
...Or so I thought. Wow, my confidence is plummeting.
Should I just commit seppuku?
"Um, no, I'm not angry."
And as expected, she read me like a book. Seeing the pathetic state I was in, Sora gave a troubled smile and shook her head, denying it.
"Um, you see... actually, Lux-san invited me."
"What, huh, eh... Lux did?"
"Yes. When we met at the victory party the other day, he said, 'This seems like an adventure, and I'm participating, so would you like to join me?'"
"Ah........................ Ah, I see."
Well... that's an unexpected move. I had no idea. While I had a lot of thoughts on the matter, I was at least relieved to know the reason.
"And so, ah, you accepted."
Wait, let me take that back. Let me try again.
"Sorry, that just caught me by surprise..."
"I-It's okay. I'm sorry for forgetting to tell you."
Though I was extremely, profoundly, and with every fiber of my being reluctant, a slightly sulky tone had slipped out, and I scrambled to cover it up.
The younger girl's considerate smile stung my wounded pride. So embarrassing.
"It was a very kind offer, and Lux-san is a fun person. I thought it might be a good experience to try teaming up with someone other than you for a change..."
"...Well, yeah, I guess so."
Even if she said that... no, I won't say it.
Again, I had a lot of thoughts, but if I pushed the matter too much, all sorts of things I shouldn't be feeling might surface, and that would not be good.
"In that case, maybe I'll ask Tetra."
"Ah, um... Tetra-kun seems to have found a partner already."
"Why am I the only one who's been completely ignoring this event???"
Hey, Azure Sky Clan! We're already falling apart for our very first event!
"Haru, you could... for example—"
"Yeah?"
For example, what? Given the flow of the conversation, it seemed like she was about to suggest someone for me to team up with. Thinking so, I lifted my head from its deliberately dejected slump.
"........................No, it's nothing."
Sora smiled, a small smile that made it seem like it was truly nothing.
"It's fine. My partner is very popular, so I'm sure you'll find someone in no time."
Seeing that look on her face—I swallowed all the things I wanted to say.
"...I hope so."
And to match her, I forced my usual, carefree smile.