Chapter 5: An Unexpected Ally

Elara stepped into her apartment, kicking off her slippers with an exhausted sigh. The soft glow of her PC monitor lit up the dark room, a beacon of comfort after the long dungeon run. She stretched her arms over her head, groaning slightly as her muscles protested the movement. "Alright... time to wind down."

She padded over to her desk, plopping into her gaming chair and tapping the power button. The machine hummed to life, its cooling fans whispering as her screen flickered on. With practiced ease, she navigated through her game library and hovered over her current addiction—a multiplayer strategy game called Empyrean Wars.

"Let's see if I can salvage my ranking today."

She clicked the queue button for ranked matches, drumming her fingers on her desk as she waited. Within moments, she was matched into a 2v2 match, her teammate listed as LumaDrift_23.

"Huh, cool name."

[Welcome to Empyrean Wars! Match Found.]

The battlefield loaded—a sprawling tundra with narrow pathways and scattered ruins. Elara frowned. Snow maps were always tricky; movement was slow, visibility was reduced, and unit management required actual effort. She glanced at her teammate's loadout. LumaDrift_23 had picked an elite ice-based faction, one of the highest-skill armies in the game.

Elara, meanwhile, had gone with a standard knight-and-mage combo. Reliable, but predictable.

"Alright, let's do this."

The match began, and within the first five minutes, it became painfully clear that Elara was not the star of this team. While she struggled to manage resources and build a half-decent army, LumaDrift_23 moved with precise efficiency. Their ice-themed forces maneuvered through the tundra as if they were meant to be there, effortlessly outplaying their opponents at every turn.

"Oh wow," Elara muttered, watching as a squad of ice knights intercepted an enemy ambush she hadn't even noticed. "I'm being hard carried right now."

Her chat from earlier would have had a field day.

She tried to keep up, but every time she attempted a strategic move, LumaDrift_23 had already anticipated it. Their forces struck enemy bases with ruthless precision, taking control of key map objectives before Elara could even suggest a plan. It was almost embarrassing how little she was contributing.

Still, she did her best. Kind of. She mostly just followed LumaDrift_23's lead, sending reinforcements when necessary and trying not to completely embarrass herself.

Twenty minutes in, the game announced:

[Victory!]

Elara leaned back, letting out a slow breath. "Holy crap. We destroyed them. Or, well… you destroyed them."

She hesitated for a moment before clicking on her teammate's profile and sending a friend request. A second later, the notification popped up—Request Accepted.

She blinked. "Huh. That was fast."

With a satisfied smile, she shut down the game, stretched again, and made her way toward her bed. The second her head hit the pillow, exhaustion overtook her, dragging her into sleep almost instantly.

Yoo Hye-rin stared at her screen, a small smirk playing at her lips.

"That was easy," she murmured, fingers still resting on the keyboard. She had expected another frustratingly incompetent teammate, but instead, she had been given… her.

Elara.

Or at least, that's what her username had been—ElaraOnline. It was a name Yoo Hye-rin recognized instantly, one she had seen before, in a completely different context.

Her fingers tapped absentmindedly against the desk as she leaned back in her chair. She actually friended me.

A quiet chuckle escaped her lips. No one knew that she—the feared S-Rank Hunter, the Ice Witch herself—spent her downtime indulging in online games and watching obscure streamers. No one knew that she had been watching ElaraOnline for a while now, enjoying her chaotic energy and lack of self-preservation in both games and real life.

And now, by sheer coincidence, they had been matched in a game.

Hye-rin stretched, cracking her neck before pulling up her friend list. ElaraOnline's status was now set to 'Offline.'

She stared at the name for a moment longer before closing the game with a soft exhale. "What an interesting turn of events."

Elara groaned as she rolled over, her arms flailing slightly as she reached for her phone. The bright glow of the screen nearly blinded her as she checked the time.

"...1 PM. Damn, I really overslept."

With a yawn, she dragged herself out of bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she shuffled toward her desk. The moment she sat down, muscle memory took over. Her fingers flicked on her PC, booting up her streaming software as she quickly ran a hand through her messy hair. She wasn't exactly the most put-together streamer, but her audience had long since stopped expecting professionalism from her.

As her chat loaded up, notifications poured in, signaling the arrival of her viewers.

[PixelPirate: Woke up late again, huh?]

[PhantomBlade: Another day, another Elara stream full of bad decisions.]

[Stormcaller: She's gonna forget to eat again, isn't she?]

Elara let out a dramatic gasp, clutching her chest. "Wow. Zero faith in me! Unbelievable. I'll have you know, I did eat… eventually."

[LazyLuna: Uh-huh. Define 'eventually.']

She coughed, swiftly changing the subject. "Anyway! Today's a special stream because I've got something new to announce."

The chat immediately buzzed with curiosity.

[Konqueror99: Oh? What's the big reveal?]

[ChocoMuffin: Pls don't let it be another cursed emote.]

[PixelPirate: If it's another bad naming choice, I'm leaving.]

Elara huffed, puffing out her chest dramatically. "First of all, rude. My naming sense is amazing. And second of all, yes, this is about a name. A very special one."

She paused for dramatic effect, watching as the anticipation in chat grew.

"From today onward, my most loyal viewer—Sundaenight—will be getting an exclusive rank in this stream. I call it… Sweetheart."

The chat exploded instantly.

[Stormcaller: …Excuse me, what now?]

[PhantomBlade: SWEETHEART???]

[PixelPirate: NO WAY AHAHAHAHA]

[ChocoMuffin: I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS]

Elara grinned, clearly enjoying their reactions. "You heard me! Sweetheart! You know, like… because they're my sweetest, most dedicated viewer!" She nodded proudly, crossing her arms. "Honestly, I think it's a fantastic title. I'm expecting compliments."

The chat, however, had other ideas.

[Konqueror99: This is the worst name I've ever heard.]

[LazyLuna: Sundaenight is never recovering from this.]

[PhantomBlade: Imagine being the #1 Hunter and your title is 'Sweetheart.']

Elara rolled her eyes, but her smile never faded. "Haters! All of you! No vision whatsoever. But I don't care—I'm standing by this decision."

A new message popped up in chat.

[Sundaenight: …I don't know what to say.]

Elara smirked. "That's the correct response. Absolute speechlessness in the face of my genius."

[Sundaenight: I guess I'll accept it…?]

Elara gasped. "You guess?! No, no, no—where's the enthusiasm? Where's the gratitude? You've been honored with this rank!"

[Stormcaller: She wants you to say 'Thank you, my queen.']

Elara snorted, shaking her head. "I do not want that. I just want some appreciation for my impeccable naming sense."

[Sundaenight: Fine. Thank you… I guess.]

Elara leaned back in her chair, satisfied. "See? Progress. I expect you all to start addressing Sweetheart Sundaenight with the proper respect from now on."

The chat continued to lose its mind over the name choice, but Elara just laughed, basking in the chaos she had created.

This was going to be fun.

Elara stretched her arms over her head, feeling a renewed energy surge through her. "Alright, my lovely viewers, it's time for today's game!" She smirked at the chat, dragging out the reveal for a few extra seconds just to watch them squirm in anticipation.

[Stormcaller: Oh no, what is she gonna subject us to now?]

[PixelPirate: Please, not another scuffed horror game.]

[Konqueror99: If it's PvP, we're in for a disaster.]

With a dramatic flourish, Elara clicked on the game icon, the familiar logo of Empyrean Wars flashing onto her screen. "That's right! Today, we are playing Empyrean Wars!" She grinned, knowing full well what reaction she was about to get.

[PhantomBlade: YOU'RE GONNA GET DESTROYED LMFAO]

[LazyLuna: Empyrean Wars and Elara do NOT mix.]

[Stormcaller: Bro, didn't she lose like 10 games in a row last time?]

Elara crossed her arms, feigning offense. "Wow. Wow! The absolute lack of faith in me! It's almost insulting!" She scoffed, clicking through the menus. "I'll have you know, I played yesterday and won. In fact, I hard-carried my teammate."

The chat went wild with disbelief.

[PixelPirate: Who's buying this lie? Be honest.]

[ChocoMuffin: Screenshots or it didn't happen.]

[PhantomBlade: Carried??? You??]

Elara smirked. "Oh, you'll see. I'll prove it by winning today too! Let's check if my amazing teammate from yesterday is online."

She navigated to her friend list and spotted LumaDrift_23 online. Without hesitation, she sent an invite.

Yoo Hye-rin was in the middle of an uneventful solo queue match when a notification popped up.

[ElaraOnline has invited you to a party.]

She raised an eyebrow, a small smirk forming on her lips. So she actually invited me? Without much thought, she clicked 'Accept,' watching as she was pulled into Elara's lobby.

As soon as she joined, the in-game chat popped up.

[ElaraOnline: There she is! My partner from yesterday! The one I totally carried to victory.]

Hye-rin froze. What?

She narrowed her eyes and quickly typed her response.

[LumaDrift_23: Carried? You barely knew what was happening.]

The in-game chat erupted as Elara's viewers saw the message appear on stream.

[PhantomBlade: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

[Stormcaller: EXPOSED.]

[LazyLuna: Bro got called out IMMEDIATELY.]

Elara gasped dramatically. "Luma, how could you betray me like this? Have you no honor?" She placed a hand over her heart, playing up her fake pain. "I thought we were friends! Allies! Comrades-in-arms!"

[LumaDrift_23: Allies don't let allies fumble their economy 3 minutes in.]

[PixelPirate: SHE KNOWS.]

[Konqueror99: THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER.]

Elara groaned, slumping forward onto her desk. "You guys are ruthless. I'm being bullied on my own stream. Unbelievable." She sighed, sitting back up. "Alright, fine! I admit it. I was carried. A little."

[LumaDrift_23: A little?]

Elara coughed. "A reasonable amount. But today! I prove that I have learned!"

[LumaDrift_23: …This is going to be painful, isn't it?]

Elara grinned at her screen. This is going to be fun.