kscans

Chapter 175 - During a Certain General Player's Stream

Think of this as something of a side story.

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“—Aaaand hello everyone, thanks for another hard week’s work! For those of you working through the weekend, I hope this broadcast gives you the energy to keep going! It’s Friday at 9 p.m., which means it’s time for ‘Hiyori Biyori’!”

`I ‘ V E ‘ B E E N ‘ W A I T I N G`

`This is what I live for`

`Aah… I got to hear my oshi’s voice again this week…`

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“Yes, thank you, everyone. For this weekly radio-style project, your host today is, as always, illustrator and Archiver, Mitsueda Hiyori!”

`Wooo, Hiyorin!!`

`You forgot ‘and voice actress’`

`And ‘idol’`

`And ‘current university student’`

`Her main job is painter, duh`

“Ah, quiet, quiet. I don’t remember becoming a voice actress or an idol. And where did ‘current university student’ even come from?”

`Says the girl who played Female Student C and upstaged the heroine with her voice and acting, getting her existence erased from the show.`

`Isn’t that Female Student C, who got 4th place in the overall popularity poll with only three minutes of screen time!`

`The woman who left behind a legend in a guest role she only took because the author, a huge fan, begged her to.`

`Painter and idol voice actress and illustrator Archiver (20-year-old university student)…?`

“Alright, let’s get right to it as announced. It’s time for our regular quick explanation and Q&A corner for the Four Pillar War!”

`Lmao she ignored it`

`As always, she has eyes that can’t see inconvenient comments`

“If I flirt with all of you, we’ll never get anywhere. Be good kids now and open up the file in the description box so we can get started.”

`A stream where I can flirt and date Hiyorin…?`

`Oh…? How much do I have to pay?`

`Donations being OFF is the biggest bug`

`The classic no-greed stream`

`As expected of the painter whose art is displayed in some huge museum.`

`You can feel the financial stability`

`A life where all I wanted was to live in Hiyorin’s wallet`

“Okay, we’re really not getting anywhere, so let’s get a move on. Open up the Four Pillar War outline template—did you open it? Now, I have an important announcement. I’m sure some of you noticed right away, but—yours truly, Mitsueda Hiyori, realized just before the stream that I had lost the file I was using until last time!”

`There it is`

`The usual`

`Is it a rule that you have to mess something up at least once a month?`

`I bet she does it on purpose`

`So cunning`

`Classic cunning Hiyorin. I love it`

“I’m truly sorry about this. I quickly threw together a new outline, but… there are a lot of parts I couldn’t remember, so it would be a huge help if you could assist me in restoring it.”

`She can apologize properly, good girl`

`It’ll be a good review, actually`

`The old one was a mess of patches anyway, just make this one better`

“You guys only act nice at times like this, don’t you? I bet in a few seconds you’ll be demanding apology art or apology voice lines.”

`I have no idea what you’re talking about… but I’ll be waiting naked for the art, just in case.`

`What a baseless accusation… You could grace us with some ASMR soon, you know?`

`Apology-rin`

`Apology-hiyo, let’s go`

“Apology-hiyo… what’s that, are you demanding me myself…?”

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“Phew… Thank you everyone, that was a huge help. And with that, now that the template is restored, let’s get right to it and make up for lost time—it’s the question and answer corner!”

`The ‘Teach us, Hiyorin!’ corner`

`Study time with the bottom-tier general player, Hiyorin-sensei`

`Love how she’s super capable in real life but a total weakling in the virtual world`

`Let’s ask some really hard questions`

`It’s always cute when she gets flustered because she can’t answer`

“………………Alright. I’m turning on the message function now, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

`Her energy just plummeted`

`Her downer voice is also lovely, so no problem there`

`And so begins the spontaneous art stream`

`She turns to drawing like it’s a tranquilizer`

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“Okay, let’s get through these questions one by one. Fiiirst up is—huh? Ah…”

`—Exceptional Player, lmao.`

“Sigh—… It’s a typo. My apologies.”

`The first one isn’t even a question, rofl`

`lol`

`This is hilarious`

`Lmao, looks like most of the viewers didn’t notice either`

`Exceptional Player… well, even if they’re not rankers, being selected for the Four Pillars means they’re not exactly normal, right?`

`Well, if you ask if the selected members are ‘general players’…`

`The Nortalia folks are barely… just barely… uh…`

`Sotalm is the Queen’s army and Istia is full of headcases…`

“Ahaha… Er, getting back on track, let’s move to the first question.”

`—When you defeat a player who isn’t a ranker, are there any rewards besides points? Like a kill-streak bonus or something.`

“Nope. No matter how many you defeat, or how many you defeat in a row, you only get 1 point per person.”

`If there was a kill streak bonus, the Artillery-Specialized Mages would go nuts`

`The Eastern Wings would probably reduce everything to nothing`

`Yeah, the Istia crew would become truly unstoppable, and not just the AoE specialists`

“And the ‘Princess’ would become even more unmanageable… Okay, next question!”

`—If players from multiple factions all attack and defeat one person, how are the points distributed?`

“That’s decided by contribution… the amount of damage dealt. Against a general player, the faction that dealt more damage gets the 1 point. If it’s a ranker or a General, the points are distributed based on the percentage of contribution.”

`—When you destroy a ‘Pillar,’ do you only get points? Does it give or receive any other effects?`

“Just like defeating a general player, there’s nothing else. …Ah, well, system-wise there’s nothing, but the morale of the side that got it destroyed…”

`Pillars are something you just can’t let get broken`

`Lately, the battles have tended to revolve around attacking or defending the pillars.`

`The area around the pillars usually becomes the main battlefield.`

`100P per pillar is pretty brutal`

“…And that’s how it is. Three years have passed, and the Four Pillar War is starting to develop its own set of strategies. How to outmaneuver the enemy’s defenses and destroy their pillars is crucial… so yeah, I guess you could say its effect is that it greatly impacts player morale.”

`—How much durability does a ‘Pillar’ have? Can a single person destroy it?`

“Yes, you can. It’s surprisingly sturdy but also surprisingly fragile—it has this exquisite toughness. It won’t break that easily, but… hmm, if a power-type warrior with a ton of buffs went all out, maybe one hit… I think?”

`That’s about the general impression`

`It’s tough to break with magic, though`

`Shouldn’t you explain about the barrier?`

“Ah, right, right, the barrier. The ‘Pillar’ is surrounded by a barrier with about a twenty-meter radius that blocks all passage, so you can’t attack it from a distance with sniping or artillery. That means you have to get close, but of course, there are tons of players from that faction defending the base of the pillar, so…”

`If a glass cannon ranged build tries to get close, it’s instant death`

`Most can’t even reach the inside of the barrier`

`Ranged types usually stick to support during pillar assaults, with some exceptions.`

`Exceptions… that heat gaze… a single wink and the entire defense force explodes…`

`(All hail Lady Hinayo…)`

`(A beautiful woman with an amazing figure and a dual-pistol style is such a powerful trope)`

`(Her dress is always so gorgeous, thank you so much)`

`(A weak little chick who just goes ‘hiyo hiyo’ versus the strong Hinayo-sama… where did the gap come from)`

“Are you talking about me when you say ‘weak little chick’? Hmmm?”

`hiyo hiyo hiyorin`

`A chick trying to act tough is just a chick`

`chick is cute. cutechick`

`River side…?`

`If the river floods, the chick will be washed away`

“…………Honestly, what are you even talking about? Be quiet, be quiet, next question.”

`—Do you know the location of the ‘Pillars’ when they appear?`

“Only if they’re within visual range. The maze walls are about ten meters high, and the pillars are about thirty, so they don’t show up on radar or anything.”

`—Can you destroy the maze walls?`

“Nope.”

`—Can you use support magic over the walls, or bombard with magic over them?`

“Nope. The maze walls are pretty thick to begin with, so they pretty much count as a separate area, and you can’t even target someone for support magic. As for bombardment… you mean like lobbing it over in an arc, right? The force field I mentioned in the outline affects things other than players, too, so that’s a no-go. If you throw a weapon, it gets knocked down, and magic just fizzles out.”

`—How do you capture a base? What do you have to do?`

“As for capturing a wartime base, the game is over the instant a player from another faction touches the giant crystal at the very back of the entrance hall. Normally, that’s where the stone monument inscribed with the rankers’ names is, but it gets replaced with that object during the war.”

`—Can the person who initiated the [Forced Engagement] use [Engagement Break]?`

“You can—… Wait………… um.”

`Can?`

`Can…?`

`Caaaan…`

`Caaaaan…???`

“You caaaaaan……………not. O-one illustration as an apology…”

`YOU CAAAAAAN’T!!!`

`Yeah!!`

`W E ‘ V E ‘ D O N E ‘ I T`

“Mmph… A-anyway, so yes, [Engagement Break] can only be used by the person who was challenged.”

`—Is it possible for a ranker to weaken another ranker and have a general player get the final blow?`

“Wow, that’s quite a question… In terms of possibility, you can, but there’s no point. If you’re after the special skill, that’s only for when a ranker is ‘defeated by general players alone’…”

`You’d get booed into oblivion for that`

`It’s about sportsmanship, or Arcadian-ship, you know…`

`—Can [Engagement Interrupt] be activated by the player ‘inside’?`

“You mean, can the person who was challenged use it on someone outside? No, you can’t. It’s strictly a skill for helping an ally from the outside.”

`—Can you immediately use [Forced Engagement] on someone who just used [Engagement Break]?`

“That’s a no-go, too. [Engagement Break] grants a temporary effect that repels [Forced Engagement]… I think it was for about five minutes?”

`—Can you join the war midway through?`

“Huh? Midway… no, you can’t. Only the three hundred people who pre-registered can enter the field. Even if you leave spots open in your roster, you can’t summon those players in later.”

`—Hinarin, are you participating in the war?`

“It’s Hiyorin. The one and only Mitsueda Hiyori-chan, whom everyone loves and adores, you know?”

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“Alright, alright… With most of the questions answered, it’s about time to wrap up for today.”

`Otsu-hiyo`

`Otsu-hiyo-hiyo`

`Your voice was great today`

`Thanks for the Hiyorin-component replenishment`

`You were talking nonstop more than usual, so take care of your throat`

“Okay, thanks everyone! —And that was today’s ‘Hiyori Biyori’. To those of you heading off to dreamland, and to those of you who are still going strong, thank you for joining me!”

“—………Yawn.”

To close out the stream, she displayed her freshly finished illustration on the screen. The weekly radio show she had been doing for three years concluded today without a hitch.

The talk went smoothly as always, thanks in part to the chat’s energy, and her drawing was as popular as ever—so it was also business as usual when the smartphone she had placed beside her on silent mode lit up, silently announcing an incoming call.

“Hello—wha…!?”

Seeing the familiar name, she answered the call without hesitation—but what came from the speaker wasn’t a voice, but a dull “baf baf!!” sound, as if the phone was being slammed against something soft.

“Alright, alright, I get it. Stop hitting it, I said I’m sorry.”

With a wry smile, she turned back to her PC and, as she always did, opened a chat room.

It was obvious that ‘she’ was angry on the other end of the line, and she knew the reason why. It was the illustration she had just uploaded… a drawing of a girl modeled after a certain young lady, and a boy drawn purely from her imagination based on what she’d heard.

She had placed the two characters side-by-side and titled the piece ‘First Love,’ and it had been seen by the model herself.

“—You figured it out, didn’t you, Nia-cha? I barely made the eyes look like you.”

She laughed without a hint of remorse, and a stream of complaints began to fill the monitor.

Even setting aside the fact that they were used to these petty squabbles, it was plain as day that her friend on the other end of the call was blushing furiously, so it wasn’t scary at all.

“Yeah, yeah. My best friend really is so cute.”

Her teasing was met with the sound of the smartphone once again being subjected to soft, violent abuse from the other end.

As she felt a warmth in her heart for her friend, who had recently been blossoming with a newfound charm thanks to a new encounter… Mitsueda Hiyori—a player who went by the name [Bush Warbler] in the virtual world—spent her Friday night peacefully, just before the big event.

April 28th, Friday.

Two days until the Four Pillar War—the grand stage of the virtual world that the entire world was waiting for.