{Tl note: If any new character comes up, I will assume a she until the evidence proves otherwise. LOL.}

Next morning.

Rebirth World?

Yeah, thats the team that player belongs to.

I ended up staying up all night watching videos in that room, and when I woke up, Rin-chan told me the results of her investigation.

Professional game team [Rebirth-World]. According to Rin-chan, its an established gaming team(formed last year) based in the United States and specializing in VR games.

The team was founded by a player named Akasha, who is quite famous in the VR shooting community. So I was able to find some information about the team easily.

You sound unconvinced.

Yeah, kind of. Because I have no idea why this Akasha suddenly went independent.

Rin-chan says that this Akasha was originally an ace on other professional gaming teams that was said to be the best three in the US, and she was operating in a condition that is near ideal financially and environmentally.

She is the kind of player that I dont think would go out of her way to create an independent team, at least not one that would take the risk of doing so.

Japan has a pretty good environment, but America has the largest esports population in the world. Being recognized as a top-class player in such an environment means a lot. The annual income from sponsors alone must be in the tens of millions.

Is it possible that she got baited by a ridiculous amount of money, or was there someone else on the team she wanted to fight as an opponent?

That sure sounds like a possibility. Still, the fact that her newly established team won the qualification for US side WGCS tournament is a feat in itself.

Also, to have her ability to be recognized to this extent by Rin-chan must mean that she must actually be quite good at what she does.

She was an ace on one of the top teams in the US that itself already sounds amazing, even to an amateur like me. Well, Im sure she is someone great.

By the way, the player I took an interest in is from that team called [Rebirth-World] created by that person, right?

Yup. The registered name is [AI]. Read as ai and not A. I..

Ai thats kind of a Japanese-sounding name.

It could be initials for Iris or some other name like that, so its hard to tell.

Well, names are not that important anyway, since I would have forgotten about it like before.

Im basically scouting for domestic players, so I didnt notice that, but theres definitely something kind of stand out about her. Thats probably why Akasha scouted that person.

Hmmm but the US team means they wont attending at our convention, right?

Yes, as I said before, [Rebirth-World] has already qualified for the WGCS in the US. So, if Nana wants to compete, you will have to qualify for the finals at the next BATTLER.

A player I was interested in, a player who seemed to be my kind of player.

By [my kind], I dont mean to imply that she is the type of person who got an unusual real-world physical body as I am.

The video I saw was only a scene of an avatar moving around, and players who have more physical ability than their avatars in the game generally seem to have difficulty moving in their avatar state, so there is no way to tell them apart from their movements.

If you ask me what I saw, the answer is [reaction speed]. Perhaps you could call it reflex.

For example, the speed from the moment one hears a gunshot to the moment one takes some action. Even if the reaction is only a slight tension of the body, it reveals the persons reaction speed.

And that player is as fast as I am.

The faster the reaction speed, the smoother the transition to any action.

That one is definitely standing in a realm that no normal person can reach, no matter how much training they do.

Its going to be fun.

Fufu, Im glad Nana seems up to it. But BATTLER is by no means an easy competition, you know.

Its given since its a tournament that hailed as the worlds most prestigious one.

The final round of the three national qualifying rounds is also a big deal. Especially in BATTLER, where there are a lot of participants, and you could inadvertently have a giant-killing.

I think were the ones doing it this time, arent we?

Thats true, but

After all, this is the first official competition for the VR division of HEROES.

No matter how famous Rin-chan is and how accomplished the other divisions have done, this will be our very first. Especially for Touka-chan and me, we have never competed in an e-sports tournament as professionals.

And the other one is .m?

Oh, right. Rin-chan, what happened to the other girl?

The VR division of HEROES originally had two more members, Rin-chan and I. One of them withdrew due to family reasons, so Touka is in as a fill-in.

The last one is currently training abroad. And Rins canceled business trip must have been related to her.

You mean Suupaa? Shell probably be here soon.

Shes coming to this apartment?

I told you! this is also our office.

Oh, I see.

Cant help it, I just heard yesterday that this is the office of HEROES, and I was so excited to see her that I thought it was only natural that I should visit her residence.

Thats right Touka and Suupaa-chan should be here soon. Here, Nana, change into this.

Whats this?

HEROES official team T-shirt. This is what pro-gaming teams are supposed to look like.

Oh, okay.

I changed into a team T-shirt with a large logo, which a half pushed on to me by Rin-chan.

Looking closely, I see that there are also jersey pants and a hoodie, all of which are mainly dyed in black.

Its all in black?

Most gamers love the color black.

Really?

Really. Even this T-shirt was made after surveying the members.

It seems that Rin-chan is not lying.

I dont really care what I wear, but even so, what about this all-black outfit?

The HEROES logo is colored, and mine is engraved with a red logo. It looks like Rin-chans logo is a blue one.

That is quite tasteful, but I think it would stand out more if it were more colorful.

How do you like it? Does it suit you?

Hmmm I wonder?

Tha.

Reluctantly I changed into my team jersey of HEROES; thats when the intercom rang.

Was it Touka-chan or Supaa-san?

The sound of the bell announcing the arrival of one of them made me feel a little excited.