Chapter 104: Chapter 103

Everyone has at least one thing they excel at.

For Jung Maria, that "one thing" was none other than Iron Fist.

No matter what else could be said about her, Maria could confidently declare her skill in Iron Fist. She had memorized all the combos for over thirty different characters long ago, and her rank in the game was consistently at the very top tier.

Even after becoming a member of Fantasy Horizon as the VTuber Cream, she never gave up Iron Fist. She frequently hosted viewer participation streams, using the game as a way to establish her dominance in a “ranking order.”

In fact, Cream had even received offers to go pro in the past. Over all this time, no viewer had ever managed to defeat her in Iron Fist.

So, while Diah was renowned as a “pro gamer VTuber” for her skills in various games, Cream was confident that this time, she wouldn’t lose.

Thwack—!

Whoosh— Thud!

K.O─!

“Ughhhh!!”

But after losing the second round as decisively as the first, Cream couldn’t help but let out a genuine scream of frustration.

The chat erupted with mocking comments aimed squarely at Cream.

“Goodbye, Cream. You were nothing more than a commoner who existed only before Diah entered Iron Fist!”

“Is she losing? Is she losing? Is she losing? Is she losing? Is she losing? Is she losing?”

“To be honest, I think Cream should lose her ranker title!”

“An Iron Fist ambassador losing to an unranked newbie, LOL!”

“??? 'Don’t you need a handicap?' <<< Turns out she was talking to herself, LOL.”

“There’s no way such a weakling could be a ranker. Are you mocking me, Kurosaki Cream?!”

Although the plan was to play three rounds of Iron Fist, it didn’t really matter anymore. After all, Diah had already stated she’d use her wish ticket to force Cream into a Biohazard: Big City full-playthrough stream.

With only one more loss standing between her and that nightmare, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. If she lost even one more round, Cream would be forced to clear the horror game filled with all kinds of zombies, all the way to the ending.

The biggest problem was Diah’s insane reaction speed.

Miss! Miss! Miss!

‘There’s no way she can see the future, so how is this even possible?’

No matter what attack Cream’s character Takuo threw, Diah’s character Tora dodged everything by the narrowest of margins. Despite the fact that Tora had only been using grapple and spinning kick moves, Cream simply couldn’t land a hit.

It was no exaggeration to say that Diah dodged almost all of Cream’s attacks automatically. Unless Cream came up with a plan, the third round was bound to be her last.

Desperate, she started recalling the countless moments she’d experienced while playing Iron Fist. Cream decided to rely on the one advantage she had over Diah—her extensive experience with the game—and began crafting a counterstrategy.

Keeping the standoff between Takuo and Tora intact, she wracked her brain for a way to counter Diah’s absurd reaction speed.

“She’s not using a dodge hack or anything, but this is just insane, LOL.”

A viewer’s comment admiring Diah’s incredible dodging skill caught Cream’s eye, and in that instant—

‘…!’

It felt like a lightbulb went off in her head. Cream recalled a strategy she had once used against an opponent who had been cheating with hacks.

Miss!

Miss!

Takuo began throwing exaggerated, wide punches to lure Tora into dodging, just as she had been doing. Meanwhile, Cream slowly maneuvered Tora toward the edge of the arena, so subtly that Diah wouldn’t notice.

“Cream, why are you only hitting air, LOL.”

“It was close earlier, but now she’s not even grazing her.”

“Is this WWE now?”

“Hmm~☆ At this rate, I could dodge with my eyes closed~☆”

Despite Diah and the viewers’ jabs about Takuo’s seemingly futile punches, Cream successfully backed Tora into the corner of the arena.

Finally, Cream launched a “more practical straight punch” aimed directly at Tora.

Miss!

“Predictable~.”

As expected, Diah dodged the punch with her usual ridiculous speed, rolling out of the way. But as soon as the command for the straight punch was entered, Cream had already queued up a low spinning kick, which now caught Tora mid-roll.

Thwack.

Takuo’s kick landed cleanly on Tora, who was still mid-dodge.

This hit was only possible because characters cornered in the arena have limited escape routes. By predicting Tora’s roll path, Cream managed to land her kick, sending Tora flying into the air.

“Ah!”

Diah let out a startled yelp as Cream executed her signature 11-hit aerial combo.

Wham!!

Whoosh— Thwack!

Smack! Thud—!!

Tora, still airborne, took hit after hit from Takuo’s relentless combo until her HP was completely depleted.

Finally, Cream’s first victory message appeared on the screen.

K.O─!

“I-I won!!”

"She knocked her out in one combo!"

"Cream wins! Cream wins! Cream wins! Cream wins! Cream wins! Cream wins!"

"Hell yeah!!"

"'Win.'"

"That ranker experience is showing, LOL."

"This is what I'm talking about."

"Honestly, I believed in you from the start!"

Jung Maria felt as though she understood how that famous Go player must have felt when defeating an AI opponent. Elated by her first victory, Maria turned to look at Ha-eun, who was sitting beside her.

“Uh… um…”

Gone was Ha-eun’s cheerful smile from moments ago. Now, she looked flustered and bewildered. Maria couldn’t help but let out a stifled laugh, delighted by the thought that she’d finally managed to land a hit on Ha-eun.

Now that she’d discovered Diah’s weak point, Maria thought she could keep up this strategy and continue beating her.

“…I guess there’s no helping it.”

Click.

Suddenly, Diah switched her character from Tora to Baron Mineta.

Maria’s eyes filled with question marks. The chat exploded with similar confusion.

It wasn’t without reason—Baron Mineta, a vampire character, was considered the weakest in Iron Fist.

While Baron Mineta’s handsome appearance made him a popular character, his performance was notoriously poor, and very few players ever picked him.

To make matters worse, Takuo, the character Maria was currently using, was a direct counter to Baron Mineta. Most of Mineta’s attacks were easily blocked or dodged by Takuo’s defensive and evasive skills.

Despite this, the fourth round began. Still puzzled by Diah’s unexpected choice, Maria started pressing her advantage with a series of aggressive attacks.

Almost simultaneously—

Bzzzt─!!

Baron Mineta’s special move, Rapid Bleeding, activated, reducing his HP by nearly 90%. In return, a crimson-black aura appeared, signifying a massive increase in his attack power.

"?????"

"What is Diah doing right now?"

"Why is she self-harming?"

"At this point, one little tap could knock him out."

"Wait, that’s an actual move?"

Takuo’s relentless attacks continued, and just like Tora in the previous round, Baron Mineta was gradually pushed into a corner of the arena.

Thwack─!

“Huh?”

For some reason, just before being cornered, Mineta allowed himself to take a hit. While briefly rendered invincible by the move, he immediately countered with a punch that slammed into Takuo’s jaw with incredible force.

Bang!!

The sound of the hit was distinctly different from Takuo’s earlier punches. With Mineta’s HP now down to a sliver, his attack power had become monstrous.

Takuo’s HP plummeted rapidly. Within two seconds, Mineta landed a light jab, finishing him off.

Thud.

K.O─!

“Noooo!!”

Takuo collapsed to the arena floor, completely drained of HP. The words YOU LOSE appeared on Maria’s monitor as her shrill scream echoed through the mic.

“Cream unnie, your rank has been officially adjusted. From now on, I’ll reign supreme!”

Diah’s high-pitched, mocking voice filled the air as she began teabagging Maria’s fallen character. The chat erupted into chaos, a mixture of praise for Diah and excitement for Cream’s impending Biohazard: Big City stream.

While Maria managed to win the next two games by a narrow margin, the damage was already done. She had lost a critical match and fallen victim to Diah’s sneaky tactics.

“You know you can’t use your wish ticket to cancel my wish, right~?”

“W-what do you mean?! It’s a wish, isn’t it?!”

“Still not allowed~☆”@@novelbin@@

"She’s ruthless."

"This is peak Diah energy."

"Diah knows how to play the game!"

As a result, Cream’s streaming schedule was updated to include a full Biohazard: Big City playthrough.

With Iron Fist wrapped up, Diah began preparing for the second part of the stream: the J-pop Ideal Type World Cup. Maria, resigned to her fate, had no choice but to proceed.

Not even ten minutes had passed before the next segment was in full swing.

“No way, how can you eliminate Lemon?!”

“Samurai Heart sounds way better!”

What started as a lighthearted discussion quickly escalated into a full-blown debate.

Diah and Cream’s vastly different tastes in J-pop made it impossible for the two to find common ground, resulting in endless bickering between them.