The Final Boss Has Returned
Episode 113
Yujin and Drakan's Collaboration Stream!
The duo's joint broadcast, which started without any prior notice, gathered immense buzz from the very start due to the nature of their pairing.
And the result of their collaboration, once unveiled, was a resounding success.
The part that broadcast viewers found most intriguing was the revelation to the entire world that the chemistry between these two people—who had been so desperate to devour each other in the previous installment—was surprisingly not bad.
Of course, it was already widely known that Yujin and Drakan's relationship hadn't been all that bad until now.
Instances such as Yujin personally seeking out Drakan in real life to apologize for the Infinite Yujin Church incident, Yujin attending as a surprise guest during Drakan's interview and personally helping Drakan up when he knelt, and selling key items from the Vampire Quest to Drakan—all these things that had happened between the two served as proof.
But a collaboration stream was fundamentally different from vaguely encountering such news through articles.
Drakan, and Yujin!
The sight of the two communicating in the same space with an ambiguous demeanor—seemingly close yet not close—clearing dungeons together, getting sucked into another world on top of that, and even carrying out quests together was more than enough to deliver audiovisual shock to the users.
[Of everything I've watched in recent months, this might be a truly legendary collab.]
[FR tho, nobody could've imagined this, lollll]
[Wow, seriously, why are they joining hands now? I'm disappointed in you, Yujin.]
[Disappointed my ass, you immersion-addicted freak, lollll]
[Tsk tsk, simping for a worthless bus-riding leech like Drakan.]
[Stop fighting, you crazy bastards.]
[I just hope they keep doing content together without fighting like this, lol.]
[Honestly, I see Drakan in a new light now. It all seemed fake, but he's the 'real deal' that even real Yujin-nim acknowledged, lollll]
[lollll Drakan's seriously awesome. Always rooting for you ^^7]
Not only did they renew the all-time record for concurrent viewers on Arde Live during the broadcast, but they also dominated the portal real-time search rankings from first to fourth place, and GIFs and clips capturing the broadcast had already spread far and wide across the internet long ago.
While the duo's broadcast was being streamed live, the viewer counts of other popular streamers had noticeably decreased compared to usual, so describing the impact of this collaboration was truly beyond words.
Of course, if Yujin and Drakan had simply run dungeons and ended the stream, the buzz wouldn't have grown this large.
But the issue was that the content they had unintentionally revealed during the broadcast pierced straight to the core of Arde Saga Second.
[But how do you get to Broken World?]
[Like we'd know, lol.]
[(Eom Jingeun) I'm disappointed there are no beautiful girls in the other world. Miracle Entertainment.]
[-Eat shit.]
[-Otaku.]
[But if it's Phase 2, does that mean there's a Phase 3 and stuff?]
[Probably.]
[Then there must be an ending too, right?]
[That also seemed pretty much confirmed? Saw it in Analysis King's video.]
[Is Analysis King official? lol]
Arde Saga Phase 2, the opening of Broken World!
It had almost completely put an end to the exhausting debate that had persisted since Arde Saga Second's launch over whether or not Second had an ending.
In the early days of Second's launch, when asked about the existence of an ending, Miracle Entertainment's official response had been simply, "Find out in the game," and now that had finally come to pass.
Of course, a minority opinion existed that having phases didn't prove there was an ending, but the vast majority of users were convinced of its existence.
And interest naturally flowed toward the ending reward.
The previous installment's ending reward had been a whopping one hundred billion won in cash!
Then just how much would this ending's reward be?
Some curious users had sent inquiries to the developers about the ending reward, but the response they received was nothing but a mechanical "That is something we cannot answer," and users' curiosity only grew.
* * *
Ziiing.
The capsule door opened.
I climbed out of the capsule with the open door, calming my pounding heart.
"Huu."
No matter that it was for revenge, no matter that it was an act performed while conscious of the live broadcast and public opinion, a sense of contempt had belatedly welled up—contempt for myself pretending to be friendly with that Yujin bastard, and contempt for this shitty situation.
Grrrk.
I gritted my teeth.
The torrent of emotions I had forcibly endured during the broadcast with that bastard for the greater cause of revenge now felt like it was surging up to my throat all at once.
This was all because I was still weak, and because Yujin currently held hegemony over this damned game.
If I had been strong, if I had been a top ranker!
I wouldn't have needed to show such a humiliating appearance before Yujin!
Of course, it wasn't as though I couldn't have confronted him head-on with strength against strength, but for my ultimate goal of "Divide the Enemy Camp," and to expand the outer reaches of my support base, I needed to act.
The masses who determined public opinion were by no means stupid.
I had continuously diluted public opinion about myself through various methods and steered it in a positive direction, but there were still many who doubted me.
To dispel people's doubts, I needed a groundbreaking performance, and that was showing through a live broadcast that I had gained Yujin's trust.
None other than Yujin himself had revealed on live broadcast that he trusted me, so now I would no longer be held back by my past.
'Though I didn't expect it to drag on that long.'
Gaining Yujin's trust was a spectacular success.
From the beginning, the bastard had been a pushover who foolishly believed in human kindness, and I had persistently exploited that weakness of his to easily acquire his trust.
The problem was that the collaboration, which should have ended after just running dungeons, had dragged on.
I was someone who could bend as much as necessary for revenge, sometimes use him, and obtain his trust, but that didn't mean my desire for revenge was completely dead.
Thump.
My heart pounded like mad.
I gazed at the scenery outside the window of the room where the capsule was installed, quietly reigning in my anger.
'Once this quest is over, I won't have to see that damned bastard's face for a while.'
This matter had been unexpected, literally an accident, but if I just finished clearing this quest, I wouldn't have to see his face in the game for the time being.
While appropriate anger could serve as good nourishment for revenge, I mustn't let myself be dragged around by anger.
For perfect revenge, I had to hold and shake the reins of this foul-tempered horse called anger, completely dominating and utilizing it myself.
I was confident I could use anything for revenge.
Even if that something was myself.
I calmed my pounding heart.
I had voluntarily eaten shit this time, pretending to be friendly in front of Yujin, but that didn't mean Yujin hadn't eaten shit too.
Yujin.
He trusted me, but his comrades would never trust me.
His comrades were unlike Yujin—they were flexible and not pushovers.
If all of Yujin's comrades had been pushovers like him, Belda wouldn't have schemed to keep me in check.
In such a situation, if Yujin had shown himself getting along with me on a public broadcast, and even sent me a friend request to boot?
What happened next was obvious.
'The seed of distrust will be properly sown.'
I smiled.
I knew very well how naive he was.
He currently believed I had completely turned over a new leaf, and in such a situation, if someone slandered me, he would step forward and defend me of his own accord without even being asked.
Because piling excessive blame on someone who had reformed was "not right," so he would gladly volunteer to defend me.
Even if that person was a comrade who had shared trials and tribulations with him until now.
You could truly say he had a personality befitting the name pushover, but thanks to that, I could use him.
'If it's come this far, Yujin's comrades won't back down either.'
Of course, Yujin's words would eventually be heeded, but this was a matter concerning that "Drakan."
It was clear Yujin's comrades wouldn't back down easily.
And for good reason—I was a past archenemy who had blocked their path, the most difficult opponent to face according to Yujin, and a future potential enemy who was still growing into a threatening presence in real time!
Metaphorically speaking, the current Yujin was in a situation where he was diligently raising a tiger cub that would surely bite his neck when it grew up—feeding it, giving it water, and bathing it of his own volition.
His comrades couldn't stay silent after seeing that.
Among such comrades, the one I was targeting was precisely Geunyukjjangjjangman.
'Geunyukjjangjjangman, in-game job: Fighter. Yujin's best friend and the one who dragged him into the game. And he's got a one-sided crush on Erena from the same guild.'
I recalled the profile of Geunyukjjangjjangman, one of my enemies, in my head.
The other three girls each had a crush on Yujin, so their criticisms of me would stop at an appropriate line, but he would be different.
If Yujin defended me in front of Geunyukjjangjjangman—who undoubtedly harbored hidden grievances because Yujin maintained an obliviously ambiguous attitude toward his longtime one-sided love, the three girls, and especially Erena, whom he had a crush on?
There was no need to say what would happen next.
Thus, the seed of distrust would gradually take root between Yujin and Geunyukjjangjjangman, and if the time bomb I had planted during my "consultation" with Yujin met the sprouted seed of distrust, a massive explosion would eventually occur.
Yujin.
He had built human relationships not on mutual interests but on affection, trust, kindness, and camaraderie—but that would soon become his ruin.
Relationships built on interests could be repaired if the price was paid, but relationships built on affection, trust, kindness, and camaraderie—once they crumbled, it was like crossing a river that could never be crossed back.
And to make that future of ruin a reality, I could endure any amount of humiliation right now!
I was a pro, not an amateur, and a pro didn't let emotions interfere with their work.
Thinking so, I calmed my hands trembling with anger.
"Huu."
A long, deep sigh escaped.
The flames of revenge lurking in my heart blazed fiercely, as if they would burn everything away, as they always had.
* * *
"Hey, Cha Yujin. Even if it was unavoidable, you went too far this time."
Lightwing Entertainment Building, conference room.
Just as Drakan had predicted, a meeting resembling a public denouncement was currently taking place here with Yujin at its center.
And the one leading the charge, veins bulging, was Geunyukjjangjjangman.
"You didn't forget, did you? That Drakan bastard. Do you not know what kind of person he is? Hey, no matter what, sending him a friend request is too much. I know you're kind, but this isn't it. Seriously. You crossed the line."
A voice of rage flowed from the lips of Geunyukjjangjjangman, his face dead serious.
Yujin.
As his friend, he knew his personality better than anyone.
He also knew well how easily he believed in others' kindness.
But setting that aside, to show trust in front of countless viewers on a broadcast while holding hands with that tiger cub Drakan, and even sending him a friend request to boot—that was crossing the line completely.
No matter how much of a pushover he was, no matter how easily he believed in goodwill.
He shouldn't have done that with Drakan—the most powerful past enemy he had ever faced, more untrustworthy than anyone, and a future danger who had joined hands with Sin Hayeon to deceive the world.
So even if he, as a friend, had to say harsh words, he had to correct his friend's wrong behavior.
Geunyukjjangjjangman thought so.
"You don't know that he made a deal with that bastard Sin Hayeon......"
The moment Geunyukjjangjjangman tried to continue.
"Enough."
Yujin opened his mouth in a small voice.
At Yujin's reply cutting him off, Geunyukjjangjjangman closed his mouth, and Yujin looked at him and added a word.
"Drakan-nim isn't that kind of person anymore. He's changed."
It was the moment Drakan's ploy struck true.