The heat is too much. At times like this, I really feel jealous of Nana's constitution, as she doesn't sweat at all.
　I was thinking about this as I wandered around the venue.
　I wondered what it was, something about the function of body temperature regulation. My doctor was surprised to find out, but I'm not sure about the details.

'Hi, Rinne!　Autograph, please!

　The autograph session had ended long ago, and now I was free. But then again, professional gamers are in the popular business.
　I humbly responded to the request from the fresh-faced girl who must have summoned up the courage to come over to me.

'Okay. Where do you want me to do it?'

'Um, let's see, ...... in the middle of the controller then ......!

'Good taste. ...... Yes, try to get better with this.'

'Oh wow ...... thank you!

'Have fun with it.'

　He brought a white controller for this purpose, and drew a signature on it where it wouldn't interfere with his play.
　With that, the girl thanked me, hugging it with a big smile on her face.

'Oh, um, can I come too ......?

　Here I am. Basically, I said that I don't sign autographs except for autograph sessions, but I knew this would happen when I favored a small child.

'Line up in a row and show me what you want me to sign.

　That was the minimum instruction I gave to the people who came one after another to ask for autographs.


☆


'Ah, ......, I'm tired.

　I like to do fan service. The smiles on people's faces cheer me up, and I can feel that my activities are making a difference.

　There are many professional gamers who are basically streamers.
　There are people who say they are professional if they make money, but the definition of the term "professional gamer" is still vague.
　The number of tournaments with cash prizes has been increasing for a long time, and there are people like me who can live off the cash prizes, and there are also people who get paid while signing contracts with companies as streamers.
　However, it is still common for people who make money from games to be supported by companies in some way.
　There are plenty of ways to make money from entertainment without having to work.

　Well, to be honest, I don't really care about those things.
　I myself have millions of dollars in savings, and there are much more time-efficient ways to make money than playing games.
　In any game, the more you play, the more fun you will have. In the case of consumer games, the only way to have fun in online games is to play against opponents of the same or higher level.
　The quickest way to do this is to create an environment where you can compete on the big stage with opponents of that level.
　The 《HEROES》 itself is a gaming team that I created just for my own enjoyment.

'Mr. Rinne, thank you for your hard work.

'Oh, Mr. Dharma. It's been a while.



　I was resting in the staff room because it was physically hard for me to do the fansa, when I was approached by a fat, elderly man.
　He is one of the developers of WLO. He was a member of the development team of WLO, a man of great influence in the game industry, and one of my clients.

'It's been about two months since we last met, so it hasn't been that long.

'You were a tester. That's true, if you put it that way.

'This event was even more exciting because we were able to invite RTA players from Clo-Clo. Basically, RTAs are more popular overseas, so we needed guests like Rinne to attract them.

'I know. I haven't met a player from overseas in a long time, so it was really meaningful.

　Because of the time-consuming nature of Kuro Kuro's 100% clear RTA, there are very few players in Japan who have completed it.
　To be frank, it's life-threatening. I was in bed for three days when I did it. It is inevitable that the focus of the problem shifts to such excessive gameplay now that the game culture has been sufficiently spread.
　However, I can't do a heavy RTA in this event, which is only 2 days long and my record is over 3 days.
　The longest time for today's runners is about 12 hours. If you're a Croc, 30% clear is probably the limit of the regulations.

'But Mr. Rinne has found a troublesome talent, hasn't he?

　While we were chatting, Mr. Dharma suddenly changed the subject.
　He didn't say who he was talking about, but he didn't need to say anything.

'Hmmm, I haven't seen Mr. Dharma make that face in a long time.

'It's no laughing matter, sir. The WLO is managed by computers with advanced AI technology, but that means that we cannot directly interfere with the NPCs. Of course, there are NPCs for management in case of events, etc., but the majority of NPCs are 'alive' in that box yard. I didn't expect the Red Wolf to be defeated so quickly. ......'

'Is it safe to talk to one player about such things?

'You've invested a lot of money in this game. Of course, I won't spoil anything that might prevent you from enjoying the game. However, Nana-sama, or perhaps it's her influence, is starting to accelerate the WLO. It's unavoidable, but it looks like we'll have to move up the event.

　Mr. Dharma said with a sigh.
　I wasn't involved in any way in the development of WLO, but I did secure funding for it at his request at the falconer's house.
　I could support the director who had been on my radar since Kuro Kuro. When I begged him, his father was willing to lend me a large sum of money.

'Is that all you have to do today?

'No, there's one more thing. Are you planning to have Nana participate in the WGCS in three months' time?

'Yes, of course. The subject this time is VR shooting, right?　It's perfect for Nana.



　WGCS, which stands for World Gamers Championship, is a festival of games from all over the world.
　This time, shooters were chosen as the centerpiece of the huge event, which lasted a week in total.
　Sometimes the subject was MOBA, sometimes it was gaming. In some cases, the subject was MOBA.
　This year was the first time that VR was selected, which is why "HEROES" set up the VR category.

　Unparalleled prize money, supreme honor. The battle for gamers' tickets to the festival is closer than you think.

The game is basically a squad battle royale, although it could be said that it is a strategy game similar to a MOBA. I'm not sure if this is your area of expertise, Mr. Rinne.

'I'm not. But I've been able to scout for girls who might be able to work in that field, not just Nana. I've been giving priority to members other than Nana to practice in that area.'

'Oh, you don't need Nana to do that?'

'No. That's what she is.'

　He's trying out WLO right now, but Nana is extremely afraid of hurting people with her hands.
　The fact that it's a game has eased her fears, but she seems to be having a hard time getting used to fighting against people.
　On the other hand, she has no mercy when it comes to animals, so it might seem like she's doing her best to torment ordinary monsters.

　Nana's forte is her flying tools. She can use everything from throwing tools to crossbows, bows, archers, pistols, shotguns, miniguns, and sniper rifles.
　The funny thing about her is that she can hit the target with a hundred drag shots, not in a game but in real life.
　Because she is such a child, it is better to let her move freely rather than bothering her to practice.
　Just give her the information and leave the rest to her.

　Besides, you know.
　It looks like her status has improved a lot, but her avatar probably hasn't caught up with her real physical abilities yet.
　Her potential is much higher than it is now.
　I don't know how much she's grown since I'm aware of this seven years ago.
　Perhaps it is because of her daily life, but Nana's intuition is definitely more rusty than it was then. It would be more convenient for Nana to regain her strength in a world full of superior players.

　The preliminary round for the WGCS starts in a month.
　It's not clear if she'll be able to remove the rust in time, but she'll be able to make it to the show.

We had a short but meaningful discussion. The event is still going on, so please enjoy yourself, Mr. Rinne.

'Mr. Dharma, please don't fall down in this place.

　He left the room with an acting-like laugh.

'Huh, ...... let's get some more rest and then go to Kuro Kuro's space, ......'.

　I was so tired that I forgot I was resting, because it's hard to relax in public.
　I sat down a little deeper in my chair and started looking at the WLO forums on my mobile device.