Chapter 84: A Man of integrity never turns his back on his enemy.

[【SkyTravel】 I’ll stand in the sky #KaiNoIzumi #StarsFlow #SkyTravel #ST]

The katana.

It’s the ultimate melee weapon—a symbol of masculinity in gaming.

Unlike cowardly daggers, petty dual blades, or oversized greatswords meant only for show, the katana offers

mobility, damage, wide attack range, and pure elegance all at once.

Sometimes, people say things like, “The katana lacks practicality,” but that’s just ignorance talking.

There’s no other melee weapon as practical as the katana in any game.

Some complain that the wide attack range interferes with allies in multiplayer mode.

What nonsense.

It’s obvious—your team should adapt to the weapon of a true man!

Sure, I admit there are players who suffer because of the katana.

But that’s their problem, not the weapon’s fault.

So remember this well:

The katana is the strongest.

In fact, ST is a single-player game, so there’s no issue of disrupting allies in the first place.

Therefore, when playing ST, if you’re a true man, the only choice is the katana.

[Remnant of Hades – Cerberus]

[HP: 13,451]

[Who… are you?]

As soon as I equipped the katana, the three-headed dog-shaped monster, Cerberus, muttered in a low growl.

A name input field appeared. I typed [Izumi], and Cerberus bared its teeth in a wicked grin.

[Izumi, huh… How insolent. A mere human daring to chase the traces of a god? Your arrogance ends here.]

“What the heck are you saying, mutt?”

–Even if it’s a remnant of a god, it’s still just a dog, right?

“Exactly. Plus, don’t forget—I’m also a water avatar!”

Never forget:

Kai No Izumi is an avatar who commands water.

“In Greek mythology, isn’t Hades ranked below Poseidon? That means I’m stronger…”

–Now that you mention it, that’s true.

–I always thought of you as a self-proclaimed socialite JK.

[This is divine judgment!]

With those words, Cerberus roared, opening all three of its mouths wide.

Clearly, a motion signaling the start of battle.

“Phew…”

I let out a deep breath and glanced at the control instructions displayed in the upper-left corner.

[ROAAAAARRRR!]

Cerberus lunged, and the fight began.

“Hmm…”

How long had it been?

Sweat had pooled in my hands, making them slippery.

–Why are you even doing this?

–Wouldn’t it be fine to give up already?

“I didn’t raise you all to be quitters…”

I glanced up slightly to check Cerberus’s stats.

[Remnant of Hades – Cerberus]

[HP: 7,451]

More than half of Cerberus’s HP still remained.

The 10 potions provided at the start of the game were down to just three.

Anyone could see it was a hopeless situation, but I refused to give up.

[GRRAAAOOOHH!]

The central head of Cerberus let out a ferocious roar.

“A charge pattern…”

If you don’t time the dodge perfectly, you’ll take damage no matter what.

Even for me, a TS girl, I fail about one out of every five attempts.

This time, though…

“Hup!”

Fortunately, I dodged successfully and counterattacked.

[Remnant of Hades – Cerberus]

[HP: 7,439]

“…Isn’t this thing way too durable?”

Even after hitting a vital spot, I only dealt 12 damage.

Why on earth did they make a tutorial monster this tanky?

–You’re only doing this because you chose to fight it.

–Sometimes, it’s okay to walk away.

Honestly, my viewers were right.

Cerberus in the tutorial was designed to be unbeatable.

Once its HP drops to a certain point, its received damage decreases dramatically, and its inflicted damage increases.

The correct approach is to stop fighting and move on to finish the tutorial.

But I couldn’t retreat here.

I was wielding a katana—the weapon of a real man.

Turning my back on an enemy? That’s unthinkable.

“This is where true men prove themselves!”

–A JK who understands the dreams of men better than anyone.

–I’m rooting for you, Mei-chan!

• Will this tutorial really end today?

“It’s done…!”

[Just… a human…!]

[Hades’ Remnant – Cerberus]

[HP: 0]

With those final words, Cerberus turned into ashes and disappeared.

“Haaah… H-how long did that take?”

– 2 hours and 42 minutes.

– Is there really a reason to spend this much time on a tutorial?

The chat was filled with exhausted sighs from Izutomos, clearly drained by the ordeal. Still, there were a few

scattered comments praising my perseverance, which was more than enough to satisfy someone as macho as me.

As expected, the tachi is divine. If I had been wielding lesser weapons like dual blades, daggers, or even a greatsword

—tools of the inferior hanamja—I would never have managed this victory.

“Alright then, t-time to wrap things up for today…”

The clock was already nearing 9 PM. Since I had school tomorrow, it was essential to get some rest.

– I knew it, but are you really ending it like this?

– Today’s accomplishments: Cleared the tutorial.

– In the same time, you could’ve beaten at least three regular bosses…

– This is peak endurance streaming, honestly.

“Well then, b-bye everyone~! See you next time…”

– Bye, Izumi!

– Bye, Izumi!

[Virtual ONtuber Minor Gallery]

[Title: Can’t believe she spent 3 hours on the tutorial]

[Author: ㅇㅇ]

And the fact that she actually ended the stream immediately afterward? Insane…

Seriously, is Kai No Izumi just crazy? Or is this some kind of ant-farm strategy to see how far her fans will follow?

[Upvotes: 31 / Downvotes: 2]

Maker: As long as Mei-chan is happy, that’s all that matters…

Loo: I’m not happy, though, dammit.

MeichanFanboy: Stop slandering Mei-chan, you jerks!

Loo: But you admit she went too far today, right?

└MeichanFanboy: Yeah… you’re probably right.

Loo: lol.

ShowYouHell: Someone once said this:

└ShowYouHell: “A true superstar drives both their fans and haters insane.”

└ShowYouHell: Judging by how the main anti-thread blew up today, Izumi << This girl’s definitely a superstar.

ㅇㅇ: But come on, you all still love our cute Mei-chan, don’t you?

ㅇㅇ: The fact she does this without any ill intent is her real charm.

Ooyabun: Wait, doesn’t this mean you also watched the entire 3 hours?

Loo: I was waiting to see if she’d actually stay on the tutorial the whole time.

Ooyabun: Well, congrats. You’re officially an Izutomo now!

[Title: The real reason picking tachi was a troll move]

[Author: LOXI]

Clearing Cerberus? I can understand that.

Even veteran ST players do it occasionally.

But the problem is, the tachi in ST is straight-up garbage.

Its attack power is lower than a greatsword, its speed is slower than dual blades or daggers, and it’s less stable than a longsword.

The only “advantages” of the tachi are its wide attack range and flashy animations.

But in ST, having a wide range isn’t actually an advantage.

To deal real damage, you have to successfully parry or dodge and stagger the monster. Range means nothing if you

can’t capitalize on those mechanics.

If she had picked literally any other weapon, the Cerberus fight would’ve taken half the time. LOL.

[Upvotes: 0 / Downvotes: 2]

ㅇㅇ: Is this true?

LLOXI: Tragically, yes…

Loo: Unbelievable.

HellCleaver: I just want to believe she didn’t know any better…

“Everyone, have a great weekend.”

“Yes!”

Class had ended.

Maybe because it was Friday, the classroom felt livelier than usual.

Amid the bustling noise of my classmates, I quietly packed my bag and stood up.

“See you, Kayano.”

“A-ah, yes…”

After a slight nod toward Tateyama, who greeted me, I walked out of the classroom.

It has been four days since it was revealed that I am not a tragic, wounded beauty from the past but simply a socially

awkward introvert with no communication skills.

In those four days, my daily life… predictably, hasn’t changed much.

No classmates suddenly swarmed me to chat about this or that. No avalanche of private messages flooded my LINE account.

As always, I was the first to arrive at school in the morning, spending time alone. I ate lunch by myself. After classes

ended, I was the first to leave the classroom.

The only thing that has changed—if anything—was the occasional exchange of greetings like before.

And that was it.

“Haaah…”

A cloud of breath escaped naturally into the cold winter air.

Honestly, I just wanted to head straight home, warm up, and call it a day like usual. But today, there was something I had to do.

I couldn’t put it off any longer.

Taking a deep breath to calm my nervous heart, I quietly stepped forward.

To get closer to my star.

“Welcome! Are you Miss Kayano?”

“Yes…”

“Do you have any prior experience?”

“Ah, no. This is my first time.”

“Then let’s start step by step. I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

“Y-yes, thank you. Please take care of me…”

“Haa, haa… C-can we take a short break?”

“It’s your first day, so let’s call it a day here. You’re scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Normally, starting this late would mean three days isn’t enough. But since you’re a student, I guess we have no choice. Just make sure to give it your all during those three days, okay? You seem to have talent, so you’ll catch up quickly.”

“Th-thank you…”

“D-dance lessons are so hard. Can’t we take a break…?”

[You’ve finally started, huh?]

“I feel like running away…”

[You know you can’t. You said you wanted to do live streams, right?]

“…Yes. I-I was just saying it, that’s all.”

[Half serious, though.]

…How did they know?