Chapter 184: People Flock to the Unexplored Gold Mine

I was kind of terrified, so I hadn't been looking at social media at all.

I wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since then, but Day 2 of the GGC had concluded amidst massive cheers; some people headed home with their enthusiasm still burning hot, while others returned to their hotels to prepare for the third day tomorrow.

And as for us, the Nitro Squad with the John (Jane) Does, we had been invited to the wrap-up party for all the participants of the various tournaments held on Day 2 of the GGC... though we still had plenty of time to spare, so we were just on standby in our room.

"...I'm exhausted."

When was the last time I was this completely drained... maybe that one time I went all the way to the absolute western edge of Kyushu searching for Trash Game stock.

The battle against Sylvia Goldberg where I had to sharpen my mind to its absolute limit was definitely part of the reason, but more than anything, the sheer volume of attention on us was brutal. Even if we were hiding our faces, Pencilgon operating at her usual baseline is just straight-up anomalous.

"Maybe I should just go to sleep right here..."

No, the multi-dosing of Riot Blood had completely blasted any trace of sleepiness out of my system, so actually falling asleep would probably be a bit difficult.

I took off the helmet that had been dutifully protecting my privacy and rolled around on the bed.

A wrap-up party, a wrap-up party, huh... If I recall correctly, I heard they rented out this entire hotel's party floor or something like that, which just goes to show how insane pro gamers really are. Katzo occasionally let slip hints of his bourgeoisie lifestyle, but his "Funds" stat parameter is seriously high.

"Mmm, I guess it's time to say goodbye to this obviously super-expensive bed too..."

More than anything, saying goodbye to this guy was the hardest part; I affectionately stroked the VR system unit sitting imposingly in the corner of the room.

It wasn't like I had developed a deep emotional attachment to it or anything... but playing games using this rig was incredibly comfortable. I guess you could say it wasn't lugging around that massive frame and commercial-grade price tag just for show.

I'm gonna have to do some serious rehab to fix my control drift once I get home... Honestly, testing it out in ShanFro right off the bat sounds like a bad idea, maybe I should pick up some other game on the way back.

"I wonder if there were any good-looking games out lately..."

Recently, the kind of lethally toxic Trash Games that radiate evil aura before you even boot them up have become exceedingly rare; instead, there's been an increase in the landmine types that actually look fun at first glance.

In my case, I always get a delayed start on those kinds of Trash Games. After all, I wouldn't even notice they were landmines until someone else stepped on them and exploded first.

"...Guess I'll look it up."

Oh, this one looks like it has a nice, trashy vibe to it... no, wait, if anything, this is just a plain old stupid game. Why does the monster take damage when the player bakes a cake? It's not even feeding it to the monster.

Looking at the PV, the player doesn't seem to be touching the monster at all... Psychic powers?

"I guess it might be time to seriously start pioneering into Western games, but over there the whole definition of 'Trash' is completely different..."

How should I put it, the "Trash" in Western games is... staggering. You'll actually unearth games where just taking your full-price money and buying a massive pile of erasers instead would feel like a more meaningful use of your time, games that make you want to legitimately interrogate the developers on whether it even functions as a game in the first place.

There are games that make you want to corner the devs and demand to know if they restricted themselves to 20th-century technology to build it, it's an absolute demon realm in so many ways... but then again, there are actually reviewers out there for those exact kinds of games.

Reading reviews written with a level of comprehension that proves they actually grinded all the way to the clear allows me to keep my heart strong. It makes me feel like, hey, there are Trash Game Hunters out there in the world with the exact same ambitions as me, armed with even stronger mental fortitude.

"Oh right, I should probably check if the Ruluiath progression advanced at all............ wait."

Ah.

"Sunraku-kuuuun, your beautiful older sister has come to pick you up~... wait, why do you look like you're on death's door? Did you shave off too much of your lifespan with caffeine?"

"I have attained enlightenment... Humanity is a creature that laughs in oblivion, and weeps in oblivion..."

"Ah, his brain is fried from too much caffeine..."

Please observe the proper dosage and usage when consuming caffeine. No, wait, caffeine doesn't have any dangerous side effects that smooth out your brain wrinkles!

"Anyway, how are you gonna eat with that thing on?"

"Honestly, I really wanna take it off."

"Where's Katzo?"

"He went ahead. Figured he'd get endlessly roasted if he went with us, so he probably escaped, right?"

"Either way, it looked like we were gonna have enough material to make fun of him for half a century... kukuku."

Sylvia Goldberg's glorious undefeated record, finally brought to an end.

The moment the battered and bruised Silver Jumper seized the Chaos Cube, that news was broadcasted to the entire world.

The name of the man who ended the legend was Kei Uomi... and, coincidentally enough, the name of the man who got two-stocked a dozen minutes later and effortlessly lost to a black macho man was also Kei Uomi.

No, seriously, we can use this as a laughingstock for generations. I don't know if he was just that ecstatic about beating Sylvia Goldberg, but he got unbelievably cocky against the black macho man—against the married man, Johnson—and suffered a straight-set loss.

"Katzo-kun's face when he logged out was amazing, wasn't it~?"

"He looked like a damn Haniwa."

"Pffft!"

Pencilgon turned her face away, trembling as she ruthlessly slapped my back over and over. That hurts, stop it.

But well, if he's satisfied with the result, I guess that's fine.

"That aside, how should we mess with him?"

"Oh, that's easy. A massive smile and a 'Congratulations on your first win,' obviously."

"Honestly, we should just perfectly mimic him acting all cocky during the Johnson fight..."

We, who constantly repeat the delicate negotiation of cannibalism and sacrifices, never know when we might become the target ourselves if we let our guard down, but putting that aside, I and Pencilgon... rather, No Face and No Name, spent the entire walk letting our conversation blossom over exactly how to provoke our My Boss.

"......Thinking about it calmly, we're the only ones in a costume party right now."

"Hey now, I'm a woman ahead of the times."

"The result of you being 'ahead' is just two months, wouldn't call that being ahead of the times so much as jumping the gun."

If you skip ahead even further and throw on some white hair, a white beard, and a red outfit, you can be four months ahead. Wearing a Santa Claus outfit under the blazing sun, what is this, Australia or something?

There were guys in suits looking like bodyguards standing at the doors of the party venue, and honestly, it felt so oppressively formal that I kind of wanted to go home.

Ah, look, getting off the bullet train on the way back, scouring the stores for Trash Games... hey Pencilgon, don't just open the door without hesitation while people are swimming in sentimentality! If there was a dress code, we would've died instantly, you know?!

Apparently, Pencilgon and I were late, because the moment the doors opened, numerous gazes from the lively, crowded room poured onto us.

Ugh, what the hell is this, I don't know if it's because everyone in this room is a pro gamer, but the sheer pressure from their stares is insane. Do you get a hidden modifier to your eye-power stat when you become a pro gamer?

"...Why are you giving off the vibe of a hibernating squirrel that woke up right in the dead of winter?"

"You don't need to force an analogy like that... Oh, right. '(Smug) Right now, I don't feel like I can lose to anyone...' And then you lost, kukuku."

"Hello, hello, My Boss, congratulations on achieving your lifelong dream~. Even though you lost immediately after."

"You guys really are merchants who absolutely excel at picking fights, huh!"

This is an extremely friendly game of catch, it just so happened that the blistering fastball thrown in proportion to our friendliness slipped on that very friendliness and flew straight into your face.

There are even baseball games out in the world where you can wrap up the final boss team in five minutes just by knocking out their entire roster with deadballs, so yes, this is a friendly game of catch.

"Where's the yakiniku?"

"What about the sushi~?"

"Good for you, there's plenty of it all, so feel free to eat until you literally can't fit anything else in your stomachs. However..."

However?
Katzo smoothly slid to the side. Hmm, was there something he wanted to show us—

"Looks like a wooohole lot of people want to talk to you."

"You set us up, Katzo!"

"Feel free to talk until your throats dry out, idiots."

"Fiend Guard!"

"Fiend Flash Counter!"

He instantaneously reversed our positioning?! Damn it, real-life physical stats aren't equal... Gwaaah!!

Q. Are you a pro gamer?
A. There'd be no point in hiding my face if I told you that, right?

Q. You were amazing!
A. Ah, thanks.

Q. Why haven't you entered official tournaments until now?
A. Personal reasons.

Q. What's your relationship with Uomi?
A. Private friends.

Q. How do you pull off movements like that?