It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

『Author: Anonymous』

『Title: Scotch truly is a pro』

『Even when he’s falling apart, he does it so damn well, that’s what makes him a pro.

Ordinary losers who always get beat up should reflect on this.』

– But who was the opponent?

– ㄴ Comparison results show it was GetDevoured.

– ㄴㄴ You’re saying she beat Scotch? Lies.

– ㄴㄴ GetDevoured was broadcasting too, so check the comparison, it’ll be obvious.

– He dropped so embarrassingly, what do you mean…

– ㄴ ‘A pro is a pro, and solo rank is solo rank.’

– ㄴㄴ Now they’re saying ‘A pro is a pro, and the snowy mountain is a snowy mountain.’

『Author: Anonymous』

『Title: GetDevoured is insanely good in 1v1 LOLOLOL』

『Was she always this good?

Feels like it’s time for her to meet some named players, looking forward to it;』

– She was always good in 1v1.

– Just has that one trick where she kills while getting hit.

– ㄴ Why did I note this loser fleeing after getting wrecked?

– ㄴㄴ Don’t talk nonsense.

– It was Scotch who just got wrecked.

– ㄴ Really?

– ㄴㄴ Scotch is an outdated loser, not exactly named.

– Need to meet a pro to be worth watching.

『Author: Anonymous』

『Title: Nuna doesn’t just talk』

『Throws a greatsword too,

(Video of throwing a greatsword at Scotch)

Throws a dagger too,

(Video of throwing a dagger at Scotch)

Throws a broadcast too,

(Video cross-editing with playing an ocarina)

Jealous? If you are, I’ll plant a flag on your corpse too.

(Video of throwing a dagger into a corpse)

King GetDevoured』

– Isn’t planting a flag on a corpse just a garbage move?

– ㄴ Whaat are youu eveen sayiing?

– ㄴㄴ How many necks do you have?

– Throwing the game on broadcast, seriously, fuck off.

– ㄴ But we still threw it.

– Winning under those circumstances is the most ridiculous part.

– ㄴ Maybe throwing rogue is the OP build? I’m going to test it. All the gold ranks, brace yourselves.

– ㄴㄴ Seriously, GetDevoured should post an announcement telling people not to use that ten-year-old build in ranked matches.

– Do you really have to put the king in that spot?

– Who the hell keeps editing this absolute trash content?

– ㄴ That’s also an ArkTube fan video. They’ve been like that from the start.

– ㄴㄴ Seriously, fuck.

『Author: HouseSnail』

『Title: Breaking News) Scotch Rage Quits』

『Hero Sir Scotch, who left the famous remark ‘Solo queue is solo queue, and pro is pro,’ couldn’t handle the chat filled with ‘diarrhea is diarrhea; pro is pro’ after getting eliminated in the 3rd round at the Snowfield and rage quit… So sad ㅠㅠ』

– He lost two games in 5 minutes; it’s understandable.

– ㄴ I would be pissed too.

– At least he lost to the championship contender, right?

– ㄴ Huh? Who’s the contender?

– ㄴㄴ Just by their character model, it was clearly GetDevoured.

『Author: ㅇㅇ』

『Title: So happy to see those arrogant brats from POAGLE get crushed』

『(Photo of GetDevoured tilting her head)

POAGLE pro?

(Video of GetDevoured throwing PadaPada’s head)

(Video of GetDevoured throwing a dagger at Scotch’s corpse)

If they were pro-level, they would have played in KoK.』

– For real, if they’re pros in a dying game, they should stick to that dead game.

– ㄴ Yeah, well, even in KoK, all top players are from POAGLE.

– ㄴㄴ As for the best player from POAGLE, Orthodox, wasn’t he totally a fan of GetDevoured?

– ㄴㄴ Ugh… I wish my idol would praise GetDevoured too.

– ㄴㄴ Why are these assholes becoming popular again, seriously?

– No, I didn’t sue, that’s why.

– No? You said you did. You even made a status board.

– No, but in the end, GetDevoured stopped right before submitting.

* * * *

They said we might go up to 4 rounds in today’s preliminary matches. This was the third round I won, which meant that, in principle, I might have had to play one more round… However, I was lucky enough to get a bye in the first round.

It seemed like today’s matches would end here.

That was a relief.

The first preliminary rounds were structured as a simultaneous knockout tournament. If you finished early, you could rest, but if the matches dragged on, there would effectively be no rest time.

So, having the games end quickly in a row was definitely good news. After all… it was true that my physical stamina in reality was a bit lacking.

Even now, I was pretty out of breath. Despite occasionally taking a deep breath, it felt praiseworthy just not to fall apart completely.

Using a keyboard and mouse was one thing, but dragging it out in VR was burdensome. That was even true in regular solo ranks. So, competing in stamina matches against pros who trained their endurance… was a bit much.

Cutting back on alcohol had reduced the negative HP effects tied to it, but it was clear that wasn’t enough on its own.

I figured it might be better to push myself a bit and play strategically. So far, it had allowed me to scrape by with a slight advantage.

Still… that couldn’t always be the case. In a tournament system, you’d inevitably face stronger opponents the further you advanced.

Ultimately, I might end up meeting professional gamers.

Professional gamers.

Statistically speaking, there was a high likelihood that the players I’d face from now on were pros. There were only about 500 Challengers and 1,000 Masters, among whom pro gamers made up a significant portion.

Should I turn off the broadcast from now on? The donations coming in during the matches today had somewhat disrupted my focus.

Or… should I switch to prerecorded broadcasts? Yeah. Maybe I’d select and play some of the streams that had received good feedback previously and simply update the results live.

With these thoughts swirling in my head, I carefully examined the remaining match schedules.

“Everyone, did you have fun today?”

There were more viewers crowding the chat room than usual. Although it was somewhat questionable what the sheer number of people meant, as most were typing similar messages.

『KingGetDevoured! GodGetDevoured! EmperorGetDevoured! KingGetDevoured! GodGetDevoured! EmperorGetDevoured! KingGetDevoured! GodGetDevoured! EmperorGetDevoured! KingGetDevoured! GodGetDevoured! EmperorGetDevoured!』

『Was the opponent really Scotch?』

『Crazy, seriously LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOL』

『Defiling a body is basic, everyone』

『Playing with a former pro』

『The devil’s talent for mocking pro players』

『Absolutely insane, seriously LOLOLOL』

『Poke-taunt-poke combo』

Still, numbers spoke volumes.

The speed at which the chat was flowing like a torrential broadcast indicated a lot of immediate interest. If I were an ordinary broadcaster, I would have carried on excitedly… but for me, well.

There were just too many thoughts I had to swallow.

“Um… there seems to be some misunderstanding. Mocking, you say? A strategy is just a strategy. Ah, the third dagger. That was, uh.”

Moreover, the parts worth mentioning outweighed the struggles in explaining.

At that moment, I knew that the way the opponent fell must have appeared as if they had already taken their last breath, at least from the viewers’ perspective. However, this was speaking from the standpoint of those enjoying Season 1.

As for me, until the announcer’s message appeared, it was ingrained deep within my bones to never let my guard down no matter how my opponent collapsed. Those who hesitated on delivering the final blow against those pretending to be corpses often faced the humiliation of being caught in reverse.

However, unless I planned to confess about time travel, I couldn’t speak openly about it.

So, honestly speaking, I felt cornered.

“Alright. Then, hmm.”

But on the contrary, it was also true that moments like this left lasting memories as broadcasts ended. The thought of ending the broadcast at this moment arose deep within my heart, but – now wasn’t the time.

There were still things I wanted to do by harnessing the collective energy of so many people.

“Then, shall we take a look at the remaining participants? In a way, they are also potential rivals, so it will be fun for you too. Hosting…no, the person in this round didn’t want to be hosted. I think it’s better for us all to just watch together.”

Calmly explaining to the viewers, I connected to a broadcast where the battle was still ongoing.

“Are we going to see Ark… Hmm. I did want to watch. I always want to see Ark’s broadcasts. But, she stopped at the first round…. No misunderstandings, please. Maybe the opponent was, hmm. Okay, everyone, let’s look here.”

* * * *

『Victory!』

– Whew.

Shihoon finally exhaled the breath he had been holding when he saw the message filling his vision. It had been an intense battle. No one could predict which of the two warriors would win.

However–

The victor was the warrior wielding dual axes. After a fiercely contested battle, victory was snatched in the very last moment by a successful parry.

The victory came from perfectly reading the opponent’s habits in the first match.

Revan, Shihoon smiled slightly, suppressing the cheers that threatened to burst out.

It was the perfect situation.

Thanks to the relatively seasoned opponent, it had been a match worthy of being called a spectacular contest – and the hard-won victory at its end.

The viewers were now in a frenzy. Unlike the seasonal tournaments, this collision tournament was being treated as a festival for the fans.

However, for those who were desperate to prove their abilities, this battlefield wasn’t something to be taken lightly. With no teammates to blame, it was a moment to face their opponents with pure skill.

Shihoon was one of them. While only a few questioned his ability, the need for a stage to showcase his prowess was indeed a fact.

The desire to flaunt his competence in front of as many people as possible, and the wish for many to focus on such a match, were instincts close to primal.

Of course–

– CravingWarmAmericano donated 1,000 won! –

【Wow, this broadcast is really fun】

– CravingWarmAmericano donated 1,000 won! –

【Hosting is banned, though】

– CravingWarmAmericano donated 1,000 won! –

【By the way, why don’t you do missions in this room? Seems like you’re doing the “Using a Woodsman Instead of a Hero” challenge.】

– CravingWarmAmericano donated 1,000 won! –

【Whoa;; If Revan flicks his tongue, it means he’s really angry…everyone, be careful not to get banned 😥】

Whether he truly desired this kind of attention was something worth pondering.