kscans

Chapter 424 - The Official Event

For myself and everyone else involved in the subjugation of the `White Throne`, there was a certain commonality.

Dragged down by a profound sense of fatigue and accomplishment, we had been paying only half-hearted attention to it… or rather, our stance was, we're dead tired, deal with it later.

`Starry Paradise`—this was none other than Arcadia's first world event, unlocked by the defeat of two `Colored Monsters`.

This "official event," announced to all players along with the news of the successful conquest of [Tsarkalv of the White Throne], initially had everyone tilting their heads in confusion.

The reason was that the event board, accessible from the system window, contained only two pieces of information.

One was the event's name, `Starry Paradise`. The other was a countdown clock, ticking away ominously.

The remaining time on the latter was a little over a week. The timer was set to hit zero at exactly 9:00 PM in the real world—and while its meaning was clear, there was absolutely no information about the event's content.

This, too, was one reason why the raid members, who had a mountain of other things to focus on, had put `Starry Paradise` on the back burner. However, an announcement was actually made by the developers on the night it was revealed.

It was a rather spectacular, or rather, an outrageously wild piece of news… but for better or worse, it was just one of several bombshells related to the White Throne's defeat, so the attention was divided, and it didn't cause a massive uproar right away.

To be more accurate, it's possible everyone was just perplexed as to how they should react.

And of course they would be—they were being told to embark on a 126-hour survival challenge in the virtual world, all within the short span of one hour in reality.

Time in Arcadia flows at a rate 1.5 times faster than in reality. Therefore, a day in that world is not twenty-four but thirty-six hours long, which would make the event period three and a half days.

But to reiterate, the time required in reality was just one hour.

Here, at this late stage, a time acceleration multiplier of over one hundred. It was a completely unforeseen development with no prior warning, but… the theory that 'the 1.5x acceleration rate is not a matter of the [Arcadia] rig's performance limits' had been widely accepted, so that part was digestible.

Well, no, it's not digestible, but the very existence of a virtual world is a full-body dive into fantasy, so it evens out. I don't get it, but I get it.

There are even skills like thought acceleration that can manipulate an individual's perception of time, so most people probably predicted that there was more to time acceleration technology.

Concerns that immediately come to mind, like whether our brains can withstand such a hundred-fold acceleration, are transparently going to be met with the answer 'no problem.' The all-powerful external brain would surely handle it somehow.

And so, the three-night, four-day event that would take place in just one hour was relatively easily accepted by the public. Well, the public was in an uproar, but the players, accustomed to the absurdities of that virtual world, took it in stride with a 'well, I guess that's how it is.'

—Now, the current issue is the event's implementation.

`Starry Paradise`, billed as the first official event, was a super-massive… a word that doesn't even begin to describe it. It was an off-the-charts production that should be called 'infinitely-scaled.'

To put it simply, the gist was this—form a 'duo' freely, without faction restrictions, and survive on the event's stage, `Alvnikuro, the Mirror Sky World`.

The part that was off the charts was the size of the stage and the method of travel to it. This was truly, seriously, a massive problem.

The area of this `Alvnikuro, the Mirror Sky World`, a name that sounded far too familiar, was said to be the same as the `Garden of Divine Creation`. Pairs of mutually registered players would be teleported to this infinite stage to start the event.

Yes, teleported—to the entirety of this ridiculously vast, infinitely-scaled area, all participating pairs would be sent completely at random, just like in the White Throne raid.

If unlucky, you could end up in a genuine two-person survival situation without ever encountering another player. As a result, a fervent search for the 'best partner' had begun in Arcadia.

The number of participants would undoubtedly 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 zero trouble choosing a partner, which was another reason I had been taking this event so lightly and maintaining a relaxed attitude.

If I was asked to select a partner, there was only one person I would choose, no matter what. That, at least, was a foregone conclusion that no one else had any right to question.

And that's why… that's precisely why,

"—Would you mind if we went separately this time?"

The moment my very partner brought this up in the clan room, which was becoming our usual hangout spot, I was hit with the biggest shock of the century and nearly buckled at the knees.

"Wh-ah, uh… um… huh? Wait, did I… something…"

Did I do something to upset her?—I tried to ask, but I was so surprisingly surprised that the words wouldn't come out right.

I mean, I might anger her often, but I shouldn't have done anything to upset her. We both understand that it's all within the realm of playful banter.

…Or so I thought. Wait, I'm starting to lose confidence.

Should I just commit seppuku?

"Um, no, I'm not angry."

And as expected, she's a mind-reader. Seeing my frantic state, Sora laughed in a troubled way and shook her head, denying it.

"Um, you see… I was actually invited by Lux-san."

"What, huh, eh… by Lux?"

"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… I see… ah, I see."

I… see. It was an unexpected move, something I hadn't noticed at all. While I had various thoughts on the matter, I was at least relieved to know the reason.

"And you, ah, accepted."

Hold on, let me take that back and try again.

"No, sorry, that just caught me by surprise…"

"I-It's alright. I'm sorry for forgetting to tell you."

With the utmost, extreme, and sincerest reluctance, a slightly sulky tone slipped out of my mouth, and I scrambled to cover it up.

The younger girl's considerate smile stung my wounds quite effectively. So embarrassing.

"It was a kind offer, but Lux-san is also a fun person. I thought it might be a good experience to try acting with someone other than you for a change, Haru…"

"…Well, I guess so."

Even so… no, I shouldn't say it.

Again, I have various thoughts on the matter—but if I press the issue too much, I might stir up feelings I shouldn't be harboring, and that wouldn't be good.

"Guess I'll ask Tetra, then."

"Ah, um… Tetra-kun seems to have found a partner already."

"Why?! Was I actually the only one who was ignoring the event???"

Hey, Clan [Azure Sky]! We're already falling apart at our very first event.

"Haru, you could… for example—"

"Yeah?"

For example, what? Given the flow of conversation, it feels like she's about to suggest a partner for me. With that in mind, I lifted my head from its deliberately dejected slump.

"……………………No, it's nothing."

Sora smiled faintly, as if it were truly nothing.

"It's alright. My partner is popular, so you'll find someone right away."

Seeing that face—I, too, swallowed the various thoughts I had and,

"…I hope so."

Matching her tone, I forced my usual, easygoing smile.