?"Hello, and welcome to today's streaaaaam!"
A chirpy-sounding young man threw his arms up in the air and shouted with hyperenergetic enthusiasm.
He had pink, cat-eared headphones perched on top of his head, which matched perfectly with his vibrant personality.
In the background, he had a colorful backdrop with twinkling lights and shelves with cute-looking stuffed animals, and there was a sign that read, "Welcome to my happy place!"
On the second monitor of his computer, his streaming chat came alive with activity as viewers flooded in to chat and engage with him.
"Today, we have an interesting topic to discuss!"
He rubbed his hands together like a shady merchant, and a mischievous smile spread across his face.
"Yesterday, as most of you know, the tournament's second round started, and we will be diving into the most spicy highlights!"
The chat erupted with excitement and anticipation. They were talking about what had happened and speculating about what would happen next.
"All… righty!"
The young man screamed excitedly and scratched his hairy leg. He, for some reason, didn't have any pants on, but since the camera showed only his face and upper torso, his viewers didn't see it.
His black shirt had a heart-shaped pattern on it with a rainbow over it, and he was wearing a pair of mismatched socks.
"As we all knew, this one team was already one of the winning candidates, but yesterday, they showed their real prowess.
"Team Titans showed why they were titans as they massacred 33 different teams, which is the highest amount by any team!
"They didn't hide, nor did they hold back.!"
After a few buttons on the keyboard, he added a video of the dominating performance by the Titans to the stream.
It showed the duo of Julian and Zadkiel slicing through the players with ease, leaving behind blood puddles and corpses.
However, their terror came to a stop as the night fell and they encountered another powerful team. Their battle destroyed a portion of the jungle and left both teams battered and bruised.
It was shocking how much damage their fight created to the environment with only one of their skills at their disposal.
The viewers were left in shock, and they grew excited for the future when the players had all of their strength back.
As the video ended, the streamer whistled loudly and clapped his hands energetically with rhythmic enthusiasm.
"Unfortunately, none of the broadcasts showed the entirety of their dominance, but we still had plenty of amazing stuff that transpired during that day!
"One of the most talked-about things happened in a small, random town in the middle of a jungle. The end result shocked everyone!"
The screen changed to show footage of one man surrounded by a group of players.
"As you all know, Moriarty is my good old colleague!" The streamer proudly nudged his chin and said, "However, it looked like he received untimely death in the heat of the battle, leaving his teammate alone to face scary odds.
"Zahhak, famously known for their ruthless nature and for their hunting practices, like to hunt down players for fun, and that has made them very infamous!
"I am probably not the only one, but I thought they would slaughter him and that it wouldn't even be a fight.
"However, not only did he survive, but he killed them!
"Not going to lie, when I saw that, I had a big grin on my face. I am not a big fan of Zahhak, as they abuse their numbers to bully the weak!
"However, their core members are known to be extremely powerful, and now, four of those core members got absolutely humiliated by Ambrose!
"While he received lots of fans and quite strange fan fictions of him."
The streamer rubbed his shoulders and shuddered like he was suffering from a cold.
"The internet is quite weird; I have to agree. I am sure a few of you, weirdos out there, are the ones responsible for those fan fictions!
"Well, anyway, he is also at the center of controversy, as Zahhak fanboys have been very critical of him, but I only have one thing to say to them!"
The streamer put his thumb on his nose and stuck out his tongue in a playful gesture.
The chat exploded as they spammed a single emoji of a word.
"Losers!" The streamer shouted with a large grin. "I enjoy their tears. I enjoy it so much! For now, I'll at least cheer for Ambrose and Moriarty, hoping their success makes those losers even angrier."
…
Ambrose leaned his back against a wall and peeked through the window towards the streets. He had been watching for the entire night and hadn't seen anything.
"Good morning." Teresa greeted him and sat down with her hands on her lap. "Seen anything?"
"No." Ambrose shook his head with a suspicious look. "I don't know why it hasn't attacked yet. It doesn't make much sense, but I don't know much about the creature anyway."
"So, you didn't murder us while we slept, huh?" Gerald climbed out of his sleeping bag and scoffed. "Well, did the creature come?"
"If it had come, we would all be dead." Ambrose said in an emotionless manner.
'How can he say it so casually?' Gerald's eyebrow twitched. 'These players have become nuts, able to deal with death so casually.
'Maybe the world is indeed doomed. I have heard some conspiracy theorists say that the headsets will eventually fry everyone's brains and make everyone as dumb as rocks.
'Now that the younger generation will start treating death as nothing but inconvenience, it is starting to feel like the end of humanity is inevitable!'
"I am curious, what made you play this game?" Teresa asked curiously. "Is it the same as others wanting to experience the second world?"
"I can do things in this world that I can't do in the other." Ambrose said, and he glanced at them. "Why you two hadn't? I doubt you purchased the expensive headset just for this tournament."
"We had these headsets for years before Martial Online came," Gerald said. "But we like our lives in the real world. We don't need the second world."
"I guess not many can say that." Ambrose shrugged his shoulders. "Some want to come here to get rid of stress, vent their anger over something, or simply escape from their everyday problems."
"When I feel stressed, I'll go punch a sack." Gerald showed his brick-sized fist. "That's my way of releasing stress, but there are only 24 hours in the day, and I don't have time for anything else."
"I am studying to be a lawyer, so I don't have too much time." Teresa said with a smile and curled her braids around her finger.
"That's understandable." Ambrose nodded in understanding. "So, I assume you two don't expect to make it through this round?"
"Of course, not." Teresa shook her head. "Maybe if we hide to the end, but perhaps it would be better for us to just go fight and see how far it will get us."
"All right…" Ambrose scratched his nose and looked over to the street, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "Well, I have a plan in case the predator finds us."
"What is it?" Teresa leaned closer in curiosity, making her natural scent drift towards Ambrose.
Gerald crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow.
Ambrose sighed and started whispering the plan.
The further they delved into the details, the more Gerald's frown deepened.
"That sounds incredibly risky." He said.
"Well, if you happen to die, I guess it doesn't matter to you two, right?" Ambrose asked.
"…" Gerald clicked his tongue. "Fine."
"Sigh…" Ambrose scratched the back of his head, stood up, and patted Gerald's shoulders with a smile. "It will work, trust me."
"…" Gerald looked suspiciously at him, but eventually nodded and agreed to it.
?"Hello, and welcome to today's streaaaaam!"
A chirpy-sounding young man threw his arms up in the air and shouted with hyperenergetic enthusiasm.
He had pink, cat-eared headphones perched on top of his head, which matched perfectly with his vibrant personality.
In the background, he had a colorful backdrop with twinkling lights and shelves with cute-looking stuffed animals, and there was a sign that read, "Welcome to my happy place!"
On the second monitor of his computer, his streaming chat came alive with activity as viewers flooded in to chat and engage with him.
"Today, we have an interesting topic to discuss!"
He rubbed his hands together like a shady merchant, and a mischievous smile spread across his face.
"Yesterday, as most of you know, the tournament's second round started, and we will be diving into the most spicy highlights!"
The chat erupted with excitement and anticipation. They were talking about what had happened and speculating about what would happen next.
"All… righty!"
The young man screamed excitedly and scratched his hairy leg. He, for some reason, didn't have any pants on, but since the camera showed only his face and upper torso, his viewers didn't see it.
His black shirt had a heart-shaped pattern on it with a rainbow over it, and he was wearing a pair of mismatched socks.
"As we all knew, this one team was already one of the winning candidates, but yesterday, they showed their real prowess.
"Team Titans showed why they were titans as they massacred 33 different teams, which is the highest amount by any team!
"They didn't hide, nor did they hold back.!"
After a few buttons on the keyboard, he added a video of the dominating performance by the Titans to the stream.
It showed the duo of Julian and Zadkiel slicing through the players with ease, leaving behind blood puddles and corpses.
However, their terror came to a stop as the night fell and they encountered another powerful team. Their battle destroyed a portion of the jungle and left both teams battered and bruised.
It was shocking how much damage their fight created to the environment with only one of their skills at their disposal.
The viewers were left in shock, and they grew excited for the future when the players had all of their strength back.
As the video ended, the streamer whistled loudly and clapped his hands energetically with rhythmic enthusiasm.
"Unfortunately, none of the broadcasts showed the entirety of their dominance, but we still had plenty of amazing stuff that transpired during that day!
"One of the most talked-about things happened in a small, random town in the middle of a jungle. The end result shocked everyone!"
The screen changed to show footage of one man surrounded by a group of players.
"As you all know, Moriarty is my good old colleague!" The streamer proudly nudged his chin and said, "However, it looked like he received untimely death in the heat of the battle, leaving his teammate alone to face scary odds.
"Zahhak, famously known for their ruthless nature and for their hunting practices, like to hunt down players for fun, and that has made them very infamous!
"I am probably not the only one, but I thought they would slaughter him and that it wouldn't even be a fight.
"However, not only did he survive, but he killed them!
"Not going to lie, when I saw that, I had a big grin on my face. I am not a big fan of Zahhak, as they abuse their numbers to bully the weak!
"However, their core members are known to be extremely powerful, and now, four of those core members got absolutely humiliated by Ambrose!
"While he received lots of fans and quite strange fan fictions of him."
The streamer rubbed his shoulders and shuddered like he was suffering from a cold.
"The internet is quite weird; I have to agree. I am sure a few of you, weirdos out there, are the ones responsible for those fan fictions!
"Well, anyway, he is also at the center of controversy, as Zahhak fanboys have been very critical of him, but I only have one thing to say to them!"
The streamer put his thumb on his nose and stuck out his tongue in a playful gesture.
The chat exploded as they spammed a single emoji of a word.
"Losers!" The streamer shouted with a large grin. "I enjoy their tears. I enjoy it so much! For now, I'll at least cheer for Ambrose and Moriarty, hoping their success makes those losers even angrier."
…
Ambrose leaned his back against a wall and peeked through the window towards the streets. He had been watching for the entire night and hadn't seen anything.
"Good morning." Teresa greeted him and sat down with her hands on her lap. "Seen anything?"
"No." Ambrose shook his head with a suspicious look. "I don't know why it hasn't attacked yet. It doesn't make much sense, but I don't know much about the creature anyway."
"So, you didn't murder us while we slept, huh?" Gerald climbed out of his sleeping bag and scoffed. "Well, did the creature come?"
"If it had come, we would all be dead." Ambrose said in an emotionless manner.
'How can he say it so casually?' Gerald's eyebrow twitched. 'These players have become nuts, able to deal with death so casually.
'Maybe the world is indeed doomed. I have heard some conspiracy theorists say that the headsets will eventually fry everyone's brains and make everyone as dumb as rocks.
'Now that the younger generation will start treating death as nothing but inconvenience, it is starting to feel like the end of humanity is inevitable!'
"I am curious, what made you play this game?" Teresa asked curiously. "Is it the same as others wanting to experience the second world?"
"I can do things in this world that I can't do in the other." Ambrose said, and he glanced at them. "Why you two hadn't? I doubt you purchased the expensive headset just for this tournament."
"We had these headsets for years before Martial Online came," Gerald said. "But we like our lives in the real world. We don't need the second world."
"I guess not many can say that." Ambrose shrugged his shoulders. "Some want to come here to get rid of stress, vent their anger over something, or simply escape from their everyday problems."
"When I feel stressed, I'll go punch a sack." Gerald showed his brick-sized fist. "That's my way of releasing stress, but there are only 24 hours in the day, and I don't have time for anything else."
"I am studying to be a lawyer, so I don't have too much time." Teresa said with a smile and curled her braids around her finger.
"That's understandable." Ambrose nodded in understanding. "So, I assume you two don't expect to make it through this round?"
"Of course, not." Teresa shook her head. "Maybe if we hide to the end, but perhaps it would be better for us to just go fight and see how far it will get us."
"All right…" Ambrose scratched his nose and looked over to the street, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "Well, I have a plan in case the predator finds us."
"What is it?" Teresa leaned closer in curiosity, making her natural scent drift towards Ambrose.
Gerald crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow.
Ambrose sighed and started whispering the plan.
The further they delved into the details, the more Gerald's frown deepened.
"That sounds incredibly risky." He said.
"Well, if you happen to die, I guess it doesn't matter to you two, right?" Ambrose asked.
"…" Gerald clicked his tongue. "Fine."
"Sigh…" Ambrose scratched the back of his head, stood up, and patted Gerald's shoulders with a smile. "It will work, trust me."
"…" Gerald looked suspiciously at him, but eventually nodded and agreed to it.
