"Let's end it here." StoneSword suddenly said to the camera with a serious expression, "We don't need a second chance. It's enough."
He sounded pretty arrogant. Everyone thought so.
— Tsk! No need for a second chance? How big is his ego?
— Shut up. He broke his own record! Getting a better RNG than now is hard!
— They must be tired. It's better to end it here and let them rest!
— How arrogant are you?! Look at Breeze breaking your record easily!
— No need to be so arrogant, boy!
— Where is the SR? Where is StoneSword and LilyPixel's rate?!
— Yeah, it hasn't shown up yet!
The host looked troubled. She looked at the production crew and asked for confirmation. Was it okay to end StoneSword and LilyPixel's turn like this?
The viewers were still at the peak of their excitement. They probably wanted to see more runs from the current pair.
But StoneSword explicitly said that they didn't need a second chance, which was enough.
Mr. Taka thought about it for a while and gave Evelyn the okay. It was indeed enough.
'If they failed or got a bad RNG, then their record earlier would not have much impact. I don't think they will be able to break their world record on the first try. Is it because of the new trick LilyPixel did? Wall run is more useful than I initially thought.'
After getting an OK from the marketing team leader, Evelyn proceeded.
"Very well! Both of you must be tired after concentrating really hard to get the world record! Please, join us on the stage again."
"Thank you." StoneSword smiled and logged out. His character disappeared from the throne room, followed by Lily's.
— Disappointed
— No second run?
— As Evelyn said, they are tired, so don't complain! There is still another pair!
— Breeze and Flexy is next, huh?
As the chat was busy, StoneSword and Lily returned to the stage. The former looked fine, but the latter had sweat over her face. The crew gave her a towel that she used to wipe it immediately.
Looking at her condition, the chat became weird once again.
— Somehow... she looked more beautiful
— Don't be weird
— ... Isn't this PG 13?
— Damn, I don't know a cute girl getting drenched in sweat is so appealing
— Stop it guys! You will get banned!
[FYBUI is banned from the stream.]
[SWEETvictory is banned from the stream.]
[Heheheboi is banned from the stream.]
"Wow! That's a pretty high number!" Evelyn clapped her hands, followed by everyone else.
Being the center of attention, Lily's face turned slightly red from embarrassment.
"It's nothing much." She muttered.
"Hehehe, you're so cute too. Hey, what if you become my little sister? I can call you Lily, right?"
"... No." She answered firmly.
"Guys! I was rejected!"
Evelyn acted sad and wiped her non-existent tears, getting more reactions from the chat.
— Poor Evelyn.
— I am willing to become your brother!
— Big sister! Take me to your home!
"Hahaha, too bad. I only want LilyPixel as my little sister." Evelyn rejected the chat and stuck out her tongue.
"Anyway, let's move toward the next pair! Hehehe, did you guys know that the wall run technique LilyPixel used earlier was actually found by one of the players in the next pair? Yes, it is Breeze! I asked this earlier, but how do you feel your technique is used to further strengthen the world record?"
"How do I feel?"
Max stroked his chin in wonder and glanced at Lily. She looked back at him curiously, waiting for his answer. The towel around her neck was let loose, falling onto her chest.
Smiling, he turned back to Evelyn.
"I can't say much besides that I am flattered. And I am proud to contribute slightly to their run. Hahaha."
"Oh, does that mean that you're not confident enough to win against them?"
"I never said that," He grinned and stood up, "We just need to be faster, right? Isn't that so, Flexy?"
"Yeah!" Flexy jumped from his chair and stood beside Breeze. He suddenly raised his hand over his head and shouted, "It's show time!"
Max felt that he made a mistake calling for Flexy. He was embarrassed even though it wasn't him who actually shouted something cringe.
'Please spare me...' He sincerely prayed.
On the other hand, Evelyn's eyes sparkled. She found something more interesting than just a skill, and that was a skill to entertain the viewers.
"Hoho! It seems that they are ready. Let us start the third pair's run!"
"Let's go, my friend!"
Pak!
Flexy slapped Max's back and walked toward the VR capsule first.
Sighing, he rubbed his back, which felt painful, and followed Flexy.
'Well, it's time to surprise them and shut their mouths. I will get those new living quarters no matter what! First of all...'
Stopping in the area where the camera couldn't see, he pulled out a tube filled with green liquid and gulped it down in one go. He licked his lips and put the empty tube back into his pocket.
'It tastes like apple.'
With this, he was ready.