.
.
.
—--------
[DING]
[Server-Wide Announcement]
[Within an hour, all players will be moved to the gates of the Special Zone, Babylon!]
[Babylon is a world server of incredible size, very much like Azimuth itself, and although it is divided into many individual sections each similar to the other if you have friends and wish to play within the same area, make sure to be in a party with them prior to the opening hour]
[It is advised to wrap up any or all ongoing Quests and to rest if possible, as such an Event isn't one to be missed!]
[We recommend that you tackle this Event with all your power!]
[A reminder to all that Babylon will be open for 24 In-game hours and once the time is up, all players will be ejected from the Zone as they finish their activities]
[For those that log in after the initial opening time, they'll be given the option to join but will still be subjected to the predetermined closing time]
[And for those that leave the Event Zone early, there won't be any second chances to return, even in the case of a missed input, so be warned]
[Be sure to prepare and check it out, we await you there, on the Elden Throne!]
/Chatter…/
As the notification came to an end, the players in the Guild Hall started whispering to each other in a frenzy, excited as the time was finally here.
But not all though…
/Humming.../
"... Hum… Aha! Here it is." Someone said as they looked at a System window, smiling slightly as the live stream started
…
On the stream, a single person could be seen wearing an incredible piece of reddish heavy armor as he stood with his arms crossed over a long dark field that extended to the horizon.
(Image?)
The sky was dark, and the ground was composed of sand… A rather strange area to be in…
He looked at the camera with a still and rather boorish aura, he wasn't here to please others that's for sure.
His expression couldn't be seen and his voice was heavy and deep, but not intimidating as it was rather suave.
"It's time everyone, as I promised, this is my last stream before the opening of Babylon…" The man said as he moved his right arm to point at his surroundings
…
/Meanwhile, back in the Guild.../
"Hum? Whatcha watching?" A girl asked as she approached the man from behind
"Oh, this? It's a new streamer." The man, Rodi, replied as he gave the girl, Hina, his superior, a side glance
"A streamer is watching another streamer? Do you even have the time for that?" She asked as she adjusted her glasses
"There's nothing wrong with what I'm doing, besides, I'm not doing this for entertainment solely." Rodi replied as he scratched his nose with a smile
Checking other streams is imperative as well! I need to keep up with the trends and make sure someone else isn't doing the same content as me but better.
I need to always seek ways to improve unless I reach a point where my form of content is so stable and recognizable that I need to do little to change it.
"Then what are you doing in such a sensitive time?"
"Studying."
"?"
Hina seemed a bit confused, there was only a man talking on the stream, what could he be studying about?
And this guy out of everyone, the very guy that dropped out of college to play video games...
"... Sigh, I'll be brief." Rodi replied with a professional expression as he expanded the stream, pulling a chair so Hina could sit nearby
We're still waiting for the others, so there shouldn't be a problem.
"Yesterday as I was browsing through the web to see how my Stream was doing, I came across this guy who had risen to the third spot on rising newbies of the platform with about 7K viewers, which may not sound like a lot, but it was his very second stream, with this one being his third."
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but its the truth." Rodi said as he shook his head
"His content is pretty simple, he fights a monster then talks about it, explaining it."
"At first, I was a bit bored, it's just this guy wearing cool armor talking and fighting… You would think he's a show-off."
"But the more I watched him… The more I grew impressed."
Rodi pulled the Stream Menu, opening several other windows and showing them to Hina.
"First, if you look at his stream, he has the Elden Throne Mark, meaning, he's streaming this in-game…"
"Everything he does and shows are actually things you can perform and acquire in-game."
"Second, if you look at the way he fights… You'll understand, this guy's on another level… No, he's on another fucking planet when compared to me." Rodi proclaimed as his eyes grew dark
"Wh… Is it that big of a difference?" She asked as a bead of sweat fell from her forehead
For such a prideful guy to speak like this then he must be rather impressed.
"It's not low… Nothing short of abysmal."
"If you look at the comments, it's mostly people trying to figure out things about him, and although he replies to some of the questions, it's not everything."
"From his Items to Skills to his Character Level, everyone is like hounds trying to nibble at his information... And honestly, I'm the same."
"I find that armor set sick..."
"..."
"Usually all of that is made somewhat clear during streams, it's one of the tradeoffs of being live as even if you try to hide it, you just commit a mistake eventually because it's you against thousands."
"Unless someone is really good about displaying good content while hiding their own abilities, things eventually go downhill."
"But this guy… He doesn't need to say anything, if you just see him fighting you'll understand what I'm talking about."
"... You're making me curious, is it that big of a deal?" She asked as she furrowed her eyebrows
"Yes, because… Everyone in the comments is saying this guy is likely the peak of what a HardCore player is supposed to be." Rodi said with a heavy expression as he opened the chat
"Look, there are even some verified accounts in this Stream... Some big names as well... Here! This is the Guild Leader of Impetus."
"This isn't the only case... Every once in a while I'll see some other noticeable names... Who knows who else is hiding in this crowd."
"This is all due to the mechanics he uses and the underlying secrets within his movements and words… Some people were even accusing him of cheating but he's the real deal."
"For you to understand, do you remember that Level 42 Boss we struggled to beat in the Second Floor of the Fissure Dungeon?"
"Yup, the Crystalline Moth."
"So… He defeated it in a single strike, then proceeded to do it again with his bare hands while giving a small lecture on it."
"What?..." Hina asked as she took her glasses off
"I'm not even joking because it's not funny, here, I'll send you the clip." Rodi said as he started fidgeting with his Game Menu
"We all know of the underlying potential of HardCore characters... And this guy is that but Squared."
"Like, if his overwhelming strength wasn't enough, his technique is also impeccable, I felt like I was watching the reenactment of a Hero fighting a Legendary beast."
"And above all, his area is the most mysterious thing of it all."
"I can't really explain what it is, but it's definitely something in-game… You just need to take a look at it to understand."
"That so… Fine then, we're doing nothing anyway." She replied with a sigh as she opened the stream's channel on her end
'Let's see... Reflectionist... What a strange name but not that bizarre given what I've see...'
She turned to look at Rodi, his in-game ID was: The_Third_Egg...
"But once we're done with this, I want your focus on the meeting, do we have an agreement?"
"Yes sir."
…
/Later…/
"... And… Close stream." Dale mumbled to himself as he saw his stream go offline
'How many people did I get this time? A few thousand? Well, I grew quite fast.' He thought as a proud smile took over his face
'Well, not me but my reflection.'
Looking into the distance, Dale gazed at his reflection as it stood motionless in place.
'For something I did for fun, this has grown quite a bit.'
'Well, it's not just for fun anyway."
'Watching my reflection fight gives me a lot of insight into myself, so I started to record it.'
'And when I realized I could stream it to make some side cash, I thought it would be perfect.'
'Since soon enough, my parents will likely start asking how are things going for me, and as to not make things too awkward, if I can show them something substantial they'll be happy enough to smile.'
'I did freeze my University for 6 months to be here, but my mother is still not happy with me spending all of those months playing games when I should be resting, that was the reason I used to be here in the first place.'
'Of course, I still trade Zulls for money, it's just that now I do it at a lower pace as compared to before since the price dropped a little.'
'Or better put, it stabilized.'
Dale checked the time, and with a scoff, he looked at his reflection.
"Well then, I can't leave this place without giving it my all..."
/DASH!/
As he said that, his reflection dashed forward with killing intent.
…
.
.
.
Notes
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om