“…You can open your eyes now.”

Master Kim instantly opened his eyes at Raven’s cool voice.

[Successfully triggered Raven’s jealousy!]

[Acquired NPC emotional expression ‘Jealousy’.]

Master Kim’s gaze shifted towards Raven upon seeing the system message right in front of him.

Like a puppy trying to protect its owner from a stranger.

Raven was on guard against the suddenly appeared rival, Celestia.

Meanwhile, Celestia merely watched the tense situation between Raven and Master Kim with interest.

With the opposing expressions of the two women, Master Kim broke out in a cold sweat.

Cold sweat in virtual reality?

Akare’s technology is truly impressive. That’s definitely the Record Eye for you.

Having mentally finished his surprise adoration, Master Kim took Raven’s hand.

“…!”

“You don’t have to do that.”

Master Kim was a romantic who preferred pure love over harem antics.

Could his sincerity have reached Raven?

Raven, looking much calmer than before, intertwined her fingers with Master Kim’s.

“It’s nice to share a sweet love, but what will you do?”

Celestia said quietly, gazing at their affectionate display with a somewhat disdainful expression.

“Elves are creatures born from the World Tree. The changes of our mother will also impact the elves. If we delve a little deeper, my kin who align with my mother’s ideology may try to kill you.”

Upon Celestia’s explanation, Master Kim felt a sense of doubt.

The fact that it affects the elves means it also applies to Celestia herself.

“Are you okay, Celestia?”

“As for me, I’m a mutant.”

Even though she was born an elf, she always had a curiosity about the outside world.

She couldn’t commune with the World Tree, the creator, nor could she communicate with spirits.

She merely appeared as an elf, a quirky being shunned by her kin.

“That’s me.”

“Then why did you return to Elderheim?”

At Master Kim’s question, Celestia let out a smirk.

“What a foolish question. Is there a child in this world who wouldn’t visit their sick mother?”

From that answer, Master Kim felt like he understood roughly what kind of person Celestia was.

“I’ll go with you.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes. We came here to solve the problems in this place.”

“Hmm… The Empire I remember isn’t a charity organization.”

In that brief moment, suspicion flickered in Celestia’s gaze.

It was so brief that Master Kim and Raven didn’t notice it.

“Well, fine. It’s better to have company than to be alone.”

Snap-!

As Celestia snapped her fingers, a crack appeared in the air.

The crack swallowed a magic-engineered bike and spat out a light green potion.

“Here, take it.”

“This is…?”

Receiving the potion, Master Kim used the sub-skill, Emotion, of his sub-job as an Empath.

Though Master Kim had already class-changed to a Mercenary, it was possible to have multiple sub-jobs.

―――

[Special Mana Antidote]

*Removes all debuffs related to mana upon use.

―――

“There’s a barrier in the center of Elderheim. If a non-elf entity crosses that barrier, it will cause mana backlash or mana overflow. Taking this will help.”

Though Master Kim confirmed there was no deceit in Celestia’s words through his Emotion skill, Raven, who wasn’t a player, maintained a skeptical gaze.

“If you don’t believe me, you don’t have to take it. But don’t blame me if something happens.”

With a shrug, Celestia started to walk ahead.

Watching her back, Raven eventually grabbed the antidote and followed Celestia.

Thus began the bizarre journey with Celestia, the wandering elf they met at the entrance of Elderheim.

***

[Akashic Record Gallery]

Akare tends to add a massive amount of content all at once.

When the Elder Lich Raid officially began, it was as if a cult had appeared.

This time, the bard made an appearance ahead of the new region, Elderheim’s update.

According to the second half of the update showcase, a new class, Spirit Caller, was also set to be added soon.

The vast amount of updates crowded the Akashic Gallery, but of course, it was better than having fewer updates.

―――

[Title] Has the identity of the bard’s first discoverer been revealed?

(Video of Lee Hyunwoo busking in the capital’s plaza)

He revealed he was preparing to be a singer-songwriter ㄷㄷ

He sings so well that a ton of female users gathered.

Recommended: 2069 Disliked: 15

―――

[Comment 996]

Isn’t that person a singer-songwriter with hearing impairment?

No Who is that?

(Article link) It’s this person.

I went after reading the article; it’s hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Shooting training and faulty earplugs are the best!

It’s been 10 years since I was discharged, but the army is still the same.

And the character customization looks exactly like him, damn.

We really need to normalize this in the military even just a bit.

―――

The video capturing the bard, Lee Hyunwoo, busking in the capital’s plaza went viral, naturally bringing attention to Lee Hyunwoo’s past.

Whenever incidents related to the military came to light, the male-dominated communities would be the first to criticize the defense ministry, but this time, something felt different.

―――

[Title] Are the female communities also criticizing the military?

(AkaRe-related female community public opinion post)

Whenever military issues arise, the women have always only mocked them, right?

Why are the older sisters doing this all of a sudden?

Recommended: 756 Disliked: 126

―――

[Comment 543]

If you go to the capital’s plaza now, you’ll see. ㅋㅋ

What’s happening?

Just go and you’ll know right away.

I can’t access due to work, so fill me in!

It’s practically a mini-concert!

Lee Hyunwoo is giving handshakes to all the female users.

Akare is virtual reality.

No matter how one looks in reality, one can become the desired version in Akare.

Even if they skipped self-care, they could borrow the body of a pretty character.

Once they gained a bit of confidence from that, they could challenge actions like receiving fan service from alpha males in real life.

A simple handshake or casual hug from Lee Hyunwoo was already enough to move the hearts of women.

―――

[Title] To describe this situation in terms of Aurora…

(Real-life photo of Aurora streaming live)

This alpha male version of me embracing and shaking hands with the cute girls in Akare is just like this.

Sometimes, adding a line like “I love you all” is just a bonus, you know…

This isn’t just a fleeting moment; it’s unforgettable.

Recommended: 1206 Disliked: 1

―――

[Comment 980]

I totally get it now.

Yeah, right? 😂

What a good analogy.

Just imagining it makes my little buddy excited…

Damn, I’m ready to burst out 10L right there!

What a crazy bastard ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Even a beginner like Lee Hyunwoo is giving fan service, what’s Aurora doing?

Yeah, right? 😂

She should at least start streaming.

Pera has also gone quiet, damn.

What do you mean by that?

Pera = ????

(Hehe Hehe Con)

―――

This incident showcased the new possibilities of Akare.

What if the entertainment industry were integrated into virtual reality?

This idea popped up commonly in the minds of entertainment industry representatives who witnessed the event.

The bard’s appearance brought a fresh breeze to Akare.

***

All day, I repeated the task of endowing the capsules with holy power.

From capsules already released in the market to new model prototypes.

I personally worked on all of them and tested whether there were any side effects.

“Ugh…”

How exhausting. That was my first thought as soon as I finished the work.

Well, I didn’t regret my choice from yesterday.

In fact, thinking of it as doing something good felt rewarding, in a way.

Stopping my hand, which had habitually tried to log into the Akashic Gallery, I checked the stack of emails that had piled up.

It had become a habit to check emails at the end of each day’s work.

‘Wow, there are hundreds of emails from some planning agency.’

The content of the emails was a request for permission to engage in celebrity activities in Akare.

“Do they usually ask for permission for this sort of thing?”

Starting with numerous streamers streaming Akare, there’s a truckload of people uploading Akare gameplay videos to Mutube.

I wondered if there was any particular reason to request permission for this so I did a bit of research.

‘There seems to be some talk related to copyright.’

It appears the game company prefers to receive permission in advance to avoid future issues with copyright.

Since everyone was doing it anyway, there was no reason not to allow them.

After drafting a simple email granting permission, I logged into the Akashic Gallery.

Once on the forum page, I checked out the most recommended posts.

“Oh, now I get why they sent so many emails…”

I discovered the reason for the hundreds of emails from the planning agency.

“The story is progressing nicely.”

The Elderheim story involved the appearance of elves conforming to the ideology of the Twisted World Tree.

And a meeting with the Elf Guardian, who is less affected along with Celestia, had also taken place.

The Elf Guardian was considered quite handsome even by elf standards, thus very popular among female users.

‘Is he still busking?’

Looking at the latest posts in the Akashic Gallery, it appeared he still was.

After over half a day of busking, it must be tiring.

‘Should I go take a look?’

What is there to think about? My day’s work was over anyway.

I switched to spectator mode and moved to the plaza of the capital.

“Alright, this will be the last encore! I’m running out of energy too!”

In the center of the plaza, a man shouted with a bright smile towards the crowd.

Bright atmosphere. A voice filled with excitement. Eyes full of passion.

The protagonist of the sad story was nowhere to be found.

I thought about just spectating, but my mind changed.

Disabling spectator mode, I immediately used the invisibility spell to hide my presence.

In that state, I bestowed blessings upon everyone present, including Lee Hyunwoo.

―――

[Special Memory Blessing]

*I hope this moment remains a special memory for everyone…

―――

Despite the grand name, the effect of the blessing was nothing special, just ordinary.

It merely helped to soothe their weary hearts from a half-day of busking and to preserve this moment as a beautiful memory.

‘Would it have been alright to reveal myself?’

I knew many wanted to see me directly.

The reason I deliberately chose not to was simple.

Today’s protagonist was not me.

Amidst the chatter brought on by the blessing I delivered, once Lee Hyunwoo’s final song began, the stir died down.

I looked on from a distance, appreciating his performance.

***

“Thank you all for being here today!”

Woahhhh—!

Cheers almost like a roar. The heated atmosphere. The countless stars twinkling in the night sky.

Lee Hyunwoo couldn’t believe the miracle that had happened today.

Especially since the ‘Blessing of the Shy’ was bestowed upon him.

He felt as though he had been reborn.

Only that person could bestow such a buff.

He had researched Akare during his resting times in between busking.

He well knew who could bring about such miraculous events.

“I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the one who brought this miracle to me…”

She must be watching.

With that conviction, Lee Hyunwoo called out her name.

“I would like to thank Director Aurora!”

Woahhhh—!!!

Long live Aurora!

The crowd gathered in worship of Lee Hyunwoo all chanted Aurora’s name together.

The person in question, watching this scene, hastily logged out and threw herself onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow while kicking her feet in frustration.

But those unaware of this fact continued to worship Aurora.

It was indeed a bizarre sight, but it clearly appeared this moment would remain a special memory.

 

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