A new day has arrived, and before dawn breaks, Xue Lang is awakened by the alarm clock he set the day before, forcing himself to get out of the warm bed.
After a quick wash and stuffing some snacks in his mouth for breakfast, Xue Lang immediately climbs into the game pod that had already been turned on first thing in the morning—
—Linked World, initiate!
The game connection is established, the familiar start-up screen, a flash of white light, and soon his consciousness is transported to that other world dominated by card games.
A new and wonderful day begins once again.
Determined to be the earliest at Dream Card Shop every day to clock in, always the first player to arrive at the shop, this is the small goal Xue Lang set for himself, and he believes it's his duty as the "head of Youyu's fan support group."
Although going so early every day, there's actually nothing much for him to do.
Youyu generally won't have any urgent tasks needing morning attention; at most, he'd ask for help with a bit of cleaning or sometimes washing dishes after breakfast.
However, Xue Lang knows well that being a qualified tool-player requires being prepared at all times.
When Youyu doesn't need him, he pretends to be invisible, ideally not making even a sound of breathing, to avoid being a nuisance (as a player, he can actually do this).
When needed, he must immediately put on the sharpest eyes and the sharpest sword, taking action swiftly with no delay. Once a task is accepted, it will be completed at the fastest speed possible, never procrastinating.
Regarding these matters, Xue Lang believes he has developed a set of insights.
Even if someday he stops playing, he thinks he could record these insights, writing them into a guide on being an ultimate sycophant.
He even has a title in mind: "The 18 Styles of Sycophancy," also known as "Eighteen Poses to Please NPCs."
...However, after the KC Cup tournament ended, Xue Lang feels his status might be under threat and challenge.
Because this morning, after logging in, he discovered there was actually a player who arrived earlier than him!
...What's more, this person even took over his job, mopping the floor in the shop!
That should have been his privilege!
Xue Lang was shocked. Upon getting a closer look, he slightly relaxed with a sigh of relief—
—Oh, fortunately, it's a girl...
...
No, wait, even if it's a girl, I can't let my guard down! (Still completely oblivious to his own flawed thinking)
The person in the shop turned out to be a player-girl named Cola Sprite, who had the chance to play against Youyu in the KC Cup.
It had been mentioned before that Cola Sprite is a player from a large guild called "Hanno Knight."
Moreover, her guild's leader, with the ID "Just a Punching Bag," is quite a notable rich kid.
Just a Punching Bag is said to be a real-life rich second generation with money to burn and became engrossed in this game after being attracted by its epoch-making technology and extremely realistic experience since the server launch, starting to learn card games and developing an obsession.
This guild was established by him on a whim. It's said that if the game's professional scene matures, he even intends to invest in a team.
The guild's only girl advancing to the top eight of the KC Cup was already a big deal within the guild. When it was discovered that Cola Sprite was randomly paired against Youyu-san, recognized by players as the toughest rival, in the first round of the top eight, the guild members were buzzing with excitement.
Opportunity! This is a big opportunity!
Especially when Cola Sprite returned, saying she gained as much as 10 points of favorability with Youyu during that match, and the guild members collectively gasped.
More importantly, after the duel ended, Youyu took the initiative to help her up and kindly greeted her.
This incident caught the attention of the entire guild's leadership, including the leader Just a Punching Bag himself.
Hence, Cola Sprite inadvertently became the village's hope, carrying the expectations of the entire guild to become a little ornament on Youyu's thigh.
The night before leaving, the leader Just a Punching Bag even held her hand with earnest advice. Simply put, he told her to be savvy and see if she could snag any hidden missions from Youyu-san or secure a long-term discount channel at the shop.
It'd be even better if she could elbow out Xue Lang from his top sycophant position...
Just a Punching Bag particularly emphasized that money is not an issue, and with the whole guild as her strong backing, this time, she must secure Youyu!
Moreover, this leader is especially smug.
Just after sending his protégé out, the first thing he did was to open the player forums.
Show-off! This must be a show-off!
If you're playing the game without showing off, how's that different from being irrelevant?
Also because of seeing the post made by Just a Punching Bag on the forums, Youyu became curious about Cola Sprite who obediently came to report.
After all, he has a fondness for big-spender, show-off loudmouths like Just a Punching Bag.
This type of player is not only enjoyable to engage with but also helps in building his reputation.
Though Xue Lang is a great tool-player, he's more of the quiet type, never speaking out indiscriminately, nor going to forums to post anything related to Youyu.
While men generally appreciate the quiet type, sometimes it depends on the situation.
For instance, sometimes Youyu might have a showing-off need and could leverage the "Hanno Knight" guild's publicity power.
Tool-players are needed in various forms.
However, for Chinai, who noticed another willing, industrious tool-girl in the shop early in the morning, she didn't seem too pleased.
Another weirdo coming for our Youyu!
This time it's an adorable girl!
And she's different from the usual Miss Yue Hua who often tags along with Youyu. Compared to Miss Yue Hua, Chinai feels a particular female-specific pressure from this new girl.
Because if it were Miss Yue Hua mopping the floor here, Chinai might feel a bit proud in comparison.
After all, with Miss Yue Hua's modest figure, even if she put all her strength into it, it'd still look about the same.
But Cola Sprite's presence makes Chinai feel a slight threat!
Of course, Youyu didn't notice her little concerns, because what she cared about wasn't something that caught Youyu's attention.
After all, compared to the silly golden retriever spirit that floats around Youyu every day...
...they all seem about the same.
Typically, in an online game, having a cute girl around usually makes people feel happy and maybe even consider dating prospects.
But for a true card enthusiast like Xue Lang, that's not the case.
From the moment he entered this morning, Xue Lang's gaze toward Cola Sprite was filled with hostility—
—Don't even think about taking my Youyu-san away!
He's already made up his mind that today he must perform better than usual, at any cost, to secure his position as the "head of the support group."
If necessary, even at the expense of integrity, he won't hesitate (though it might already be long gone).
Unfortunately, he's bound to be disappointed today.
Because today...
...Youyu isn't even here.