WGCS, World Gamers Championships.
　I know the name itself.
　I know the name itself, because Rin-chan once took me to that event.

　But the last time I went there, I was just there for fun, so I only knew that it was a huge gaming event.

'Well, that's about all you need to know, Nana. It would be too long to explain in detail.

　After saying that, Rin took out a tablet device from her bag.
　Catching it, she looked at the screen and saw the official site of WGCS.
　As I was thinking that the site was too jumbled and confusing to understand, Rin quickly explained.

'The official world championships of the five games and the special tournament of the "All Stars". The WGCS is always held in this structure every year.

'Hmm ......, so it's a combined event of six tournaments?'

'That's pretty much how it works.

　When I looked at the official site again, I found that it was indeed something like that.
　The five games and the All-Stars that Lin-chan mentioned are divided into different banners, so it seems that the All-Stars is treated as a separate category rather than the six tournaments being treated in parallel.
　First of all, I opened the banners for the five games, and found that each of the five games selected for this year's WGCS was outlined.

　FPS "Dead or Valet".
　TPS "Zero Wars 4".
　MOBA "Masterpiece".
　Meteoring VS (Versus)".
　And the VR game "Double Cross: Hazard".

　It seems that these five games will be the titles to hold the world championship at WGCS this year.

　I know only Zero Wars 4, but I've never heard of the others. ...... No, I think Rin-chan played the old Meteoring series.
　Anyway, all of these games seem to have exploded in popularity over the past few years.

'They're neatly divided into different genres, aren't they?

'Nana-sama, that's just a coincidence. Last year, there were two MOBA titles, and the year before last, there were two VR gaming titles.

'Oh, I see.

　I thought it was great that there were no games of the same genre, but if I believe Toka-chan's correction, it seems to be a complete coincidence.

　FPS is an abbreviation for 'first-person shooter', which is a shooting game played from a first-person perspective.
　To put it crudely, FPS genre shooters are those in which the only thing you see on the screen when you play is a gun or a limb.
　Since you feel as if you are in the character's body, the sense of immersion tends to be high.

　The opposite is TPS, the so-called 'third-person shooter'.
　This is a shooting game in which you control a character from God's point of view, in which your character's whole body is reflected in the screen.
　Since you can see your character's expression depending on the camera operation, you can easily get attached to your character, but it may not be as immersive and realistic as FPS.

　Next is MOBA, ...... which I honestly don't know much about.
　I believe the official name is 'Multiplayer Online Battle Arena', and MOBA is its abbreviation. MOBA is the abbreviation.
　It seems to be one of the genres of real-time strategy, and according to Rin, it's 'a battle game in the simplest sense of the word'.
　There are many games where the structure of victory or defeat itself is simple; you win if you overpower the enemy while defending your own position, but there is a great deal of strategy involved, and your ability to make good decisions on the spot is tested.
　Well, I decided to think of it as a battle game. This is a genre that Lin is the best at and I am the worst at.



　I understand these three because I have studied them, but if you don't know games, you will probably have a question mark.

　Incidentally, gaming and VR gaming are two completely different genres, even though they share the same name.
　Or perhaps I should say that the VR genre itself is too different from existing games.
　Tapping the controller and moving the body are completely different. That's why there are few players who are active in these two genres.


'By the way, what kind of criteria are used to select these players?

'These are the top five prize pools in the WGCS sanctioned tournaments last year. First place was Masterpiece with a little over 9.5 billion, and I think the fifth was Zero Wars with about 9 billion.

'Isn't that too close to call?

　The 6th place game is 8.9 billion, and that's a very close race.

　However, the term "WGCS-approved tournaments" suggests that prize money from non-approved tournaments that have not been approved by the WGCS will not be added to the total.
　For example, unofficial online tournaments held by volunteers. If the game is famous and popular, such fan tournaments are often held via social networking sites.
　I've participated in a few of them with Rin-chan in the past.

　By the way, the prize pool is not only the prize money of the first place, but also the sum of all the prize money set in the tournament.
　If the first place is 500 million, the second place is 300 million, and the third place is 200 million, the total prize money is 1 billion.

'Even so, 9.5 billion, ......'.

'I think the world's best Masterpiece player won about a billion dollars last year. He's won a lot of tournaments.

　A billion in just one year is a dream come true.
　The fact that she can say such a thing without excitement is because she is rich.
　I guess only a handful of gamers with millions of dollars can get that honor in reality.

'So, what's the point of the All-Stars?

'That's the WGCS exhibition event.

　An exhibition event. At Rin's urging, I looked down at the tablet in my hand again.
　I turned the page back to the top page of the official site again.
　I tapped on the All-Stars banner I'd been eyeing earlier and opened the page to see an overview of the tournament, also with a spectacular display.

　I feel a little dizzy with all the details, but I read through it carefully.
　There were three things that caught my attention as I read the outline of the conference.


　One. The genre of games to be used in the All-Stars is not fixed, and the genre to be used in the next All-Stars will be announced at the end of the WGCS All-Stars Special Tournament.
　This means that the genre selected will change every year. Sometimes it's FPS, sometimes it's gaming, that's it.

　The question is about the other two.

　One. The game titles used in All-Stars are the latest titles that will be released exactly 30 days before WGCS in world standard time. 　
　One. Because of the above reasons, each country's qualifying tournament for All-Stars will be held using a different game selected from the same genre as the game used in the main tournament.

　To put it bluntly, I think it's a mess.
　If we take this explanation as it is, it means that the All-Stars tournament does not use the games that are actually used in the main tournament in the preliminary rounds.



'What do you think of this?

'Well, that's how most gamers would react if they saw the All-Stars outline for the first time.'

'That's right, .......'

　Lin-chan's reply reassured me that my reaction was correct.
　This is a rule that can lead to a catastrophe if you make a mistake.
　What if the environment of the game used in the main game is messed up?　What if there is a fatal bug?　If it's not good enough, it could interfere with the management of the tournament.

'Well, really fatal bugs will be solved. That's why we release the software 30 days in advance.

'You've thought of that much, haven't you?

'In the first place, Nana. The All-Stars is just an exhibition. Unlike other world championships, it's such a crazy competition that sometimes even bugs can be used as entertainment.

　Rin said, as if admonishing me.

'The uncoordinated environment, the lack of conventions, the unexpected bugs. It's also a place to select the best gamers who can overcome all of these, who have both luck and ability. In fact, it's interesting to see how many bugs are used every year.

'It really is a crazy tournament, isn't it?

　I can't help but laugh at her.
　If the rules of the tournament are 'anything goes', with bugs mixed in with world-class battles, then it certainly sounds interesting.
　It's not that everyone is equal, but it's definitely a rule setting where dark horses and giant killings are likely to be born.
　Still, if the use of bugs is a matter of course, the search for bugs will start as soon as the practice becomes available.

'And the national qualifying tournament is next weekend,' he said.

'Yes, it is. But there's a little problem.

'A problem?

'One of the girls we were recruiting for the VR division quit HEROES for family reasons.'

'Oh no.'

　That's definitely a problem. If Lin had recruited her, she must have been a very talented person, and even if she hadn't, she must have been short of members, so it was still a problem.

'I've thought about it a lot, but I've decided to use the light to fill in the gaps this time.

'You used Toka-chan?

'Fill in the blanks? Sister Lin, you should have said it a little better: ......'

　At Lin's frank words, Tohka's lips twitched.
　But to tell the truth, it's surprising.
　Toka-chan has always been a girl who can handle anything with ease, and she's even been good at playing games.
　However, I had the strong impression that she only played games because she was invited by Rin, and I didn't have the impression that she was so into games that she would participate in a tournament like this.

　Seeing my reaction, Rin looked convinced and said.

'Come to think of it, you don't know Nana, do you? The light has a very high aptitude for full dives.



'Full-dive aptitude?'

'It means you're good at manipulating avatars in virtual space. I can't quantify it, but to put it bluntly, Toka's aptitude is one of the best, even close to Nana's.'

'Wow, you're really good, aren't you, Toka?

It's a little embarrassing to be praised by two people.

　Toka-chan said, her cheeks tinted a little.
　Hmm?　I think I just missed the most important thing ......?

'Do I have a high aptitude for full-dive?

'Yes, your aptitude gauge is broken.

'Sadly, the latest technology has failed you.'

'That much?

　That's not a compliment. It's definitely not a compliment.
　Stop making us both look so sad.

'It's okay, Nanaka. It's one of your virtues.'

　Toki had been quietly listening to our conversation until now, but her misguided follow-up echoed in my mind.