Chapter 136
Seo Jun was drawing the hottest attention among the participants in RiOS.
Though they had showcased Kael’s 4-second judgment sword and Eric’s insane prediction shots, these plays didn’t garner that much interest.
To be precise, they did attract momentary attention, but people simply thought, “Ah, they’re good,” or “So that’s possible,” and moved on.
But when another issue became entangled with that skill, the situation changed.
Assimilation rate 10.
The number Seo Jun had revealed simply to put others down caused a much bigger stir than expected and became a long-standing topic of conversation.
The reason was simple.
Normally, people’s assimilation rates average around 60, distributed between 50 and 70.
So, it is generally accepted that assimilation rate does not necessarily make a bad player good or a good player bad.
Furthermore, while there might be some influence between 80 and 90, it’s considered negligible.
But what if it’s 100?
Of course, there are Bronze users overseas with rates over 100, so it’s not absolute, but the prevailing theory is that an extremely high assimilation rate almost always means the player is good.
They adapt quickly, learn fast, and accumulate proficiency. They rise to higher ranks. They enter the pro world more easily.
Indeed.
An absolutely high assimilation rate is considered significant. Because such cases are so rare.
That’s why some people had been curious about Seo Jun’s assimilation rate from the start.
Wondering if it might be that high.
But when they looked into it, it was the exact opposite.
And it was a case that had never occurred before.
An extremely low number.
[10! 10! Is that even a possible number?]
It made sense.
There was proof.
But even after seeing it, some couldn’t believe it and even sent inquiries to Surface.
Of course.
[They said they can’t disclose it.]
Personal information was precious.
So, they began to deduce whether Seo Jun had any reason to lie. Especially about having a low assimilation rate.
To attract attention?
He was already a successful streamer with 20,000 viewers; if he stirred up controversy and it turned out to be a lie, only he would suffer the loss. He wasn’t someone with nothing to lose.
Given that streamers with much to lose had caused incidents nonetheless, it proved humans aren’t rational beings.
But surely Seo Jun would know that, thought the users of Riven.
Because blatantly lying to attract attention was a whole different level of problem.
Thus, the opinion that Seo Jun was just trolling was only shouted by a minority.
So what remained?
Many things.
The theory of assimilation rate irrelevance.
[Actually, even an extremely low 10 might not make much difference, right?]
- If you try a good capsule and a bad capsule, you immediately feel the reverse discomfort, and you’re saying 10 is fine?
- For real, if it’s this low, it’s significant.
It was thoroughly debunked.
[Then, is it time to bring out the theory that Seo Jun is a noob?]
- Caution) This hypothesis vanished after getting hit by the 4-second judgment sword.
- Does the Heavenly Demon look like a joke to you?
└Wow, a joke!
- Yeah, league challenger Spoon lost too~
It was thoroughly debunked.
And then the next theory emerged.
The real-life levitation theory.
[This bastard probably literally flies around in real life lol, but in virtual reality, he can’t fly because his assimilation rate is low.]
It was a hypothesis that sounded like it meant something, with a spoonful of bullshit added.
To interpret, it meant, “In reality, he can show even crazier movements, and so far, he’s been a weakened version!”
This one held a little water.
- With 10, there’s a possibility.
- Did he seriously live a gang life...?
- Ah lol, you’re saying he’s a martial artist lol.
- Shouldn’t he have been made an athlete? Seems like a national loss.
There was even someone who spoke the truth.
But neither the person who wrote that comment, nor the countless people who glanced at it while scrolling, knew that it was the truth.
So they fell into a labyrinth.
Just how does Seo Jun, with an assimilation rate of 10, play the game, how is he so good, and to what extent does it precisely affect his skill?
Three days were too short to find the answers to all those questions.
And the operations team, considering this, placed Seo Jun, who was the center of attention, first.
And.
[I won’t buy him.]
[I think it’s better not to buy.]
That’s how Ha Yoon-ho and Tae-woo ended up speaking at the same time.
- Hahahahahaha
- So they’ll even diss a friend without mercy? lol
- They’re not buying the streamer?
- With Tae-woo, it’s because he got beaten up so much at home by the streamer that he’s traumatized! This is certain.
- For real lol, I installed CCTV in their house and he’s always getting beaten up.
* * *
Tae-woo had answered the host’s question immediately, then realized someone else had spoken at the same time and quickly checked who it was.
Ha Yoon-ho.
The two swiftly exchanged thoughts. And grasped each other’s intentions.
‘Could it be, hyung too?’
‘Yeah, me too.’
The two smirked.
And Tae-woo sent a personal message to Ha Yoon-ho.
Seo Jun would have been surprised to know that this entire process took less than a second.
- I’ll handle the personal stuff. Hyung, just go ahead with what you prepared about skill.
- Okay.
Since only their faces were on the video call, hardly anyone would have caught this series of actions anyway.
It wasn’t problematic, but such collusion needed secrecy at its core.
That’s right.
Collusion.
‘I didn’t know hyung was also targeting him, but for now, cooperation is key.’
It’s a shame, but inevitable.
The host spoke.
[Ah! An immediate answer came out. From two of you, no less! Seo Jun’s current position is mid, and his group is A. May I ask which part bothers you? First, Team Leader Kim Tae-woo. Most viewers probably know you and the player are close friends. So why wouldn’t you buy such a close friend!]
As expected.
Tae-woo erased the weaknesses in Seo Jun’s skill that he had prepared from his mind. Ha Yoon-ho would talk about those.
That’s what they agreed on. In under a second.
What he had to do now was incite and fabricate.
This pre-event, currently being watched by 200,000 people on the official account alone, was a place for team leaders to share their thoughts.
To use in tomorrow’s auction.
So he becomes brazen.
[Precisely because of that reason.]
[Pardon?]
[Since we’re friends, various memories I know of make me hesitant to pick Seo Jun for the team.]
Their goal.
To badmouth Seo Jun as much as possible and reduce competitors.
It often happens that people say they won’t buy and then do, so it didn’t matter how much they insulted him now.
‘Insulting might be a bit risky.’
Anyway.
‘What should I talk about?’
There was plenty to say. Because Seo Jun was such a weird guy.
Tae-woo sifted through his memories and decided to talk about how Seo Jun had acted during the ball sports tournament.
[I see. Could you perhaps tell us a little about what that is?]
[In our first year of high school, there was an inter-class tournament. Back then, Seo Jun acted as if teamwork didn’t exist. You know how everyone practices together during PE or in the morning? He didn’t even participate in the game itself.]
The truth was, Seo Jun didn’t participate because if he joined, they would win anyway.
Instead, he offered to teach them, but anyway, it could be seen as lacking teamwork.
[Ah, is that so?]
[On top of that, he’s good at playing politics. He likes to divide the team and manipulate them at will.]
Watching the matches from outside and giving advice, Seo Jun would identify who made mistakes in each game and convince the entire class by telling them these facts.
Then he would take only that friend to the ‘Room of Spirit and Time’ after school.
And later, when the tournament ended, they realized.
That Seo Jun had, by hook or by crook, made up excuses to take each of them there at least once!
[Hahaha…….]
[His personality is also domineering. He always insists he’s right!]
In reality, Seo Jun was always right.
Thanks to that training and guidance, their class won the ball sports tournament.
‘It was fun.’
Memories came flooding back.
Thanks to the common enemy that was Seo Jun, the classmates became one.
They fostered camaraderie and cooperation.
‘Thinking back, maybe the past has been slightly glorified. Fun, my ass.’
Perhaps because the physical pain was easily forgotten, and only the intense memories of victory remained.
Anyway, what mattered was that their team won.
Therefore, they should buy Seo Jun.
[Viewers, even if this might look like badmouthing a participant, please keep in mind that these two are close friends who even live together. Honestly, this level of roasting is nothing, right?]
The host added an appropriate side note.
[Alright. Then we can’t not hear from Team Leader Ha Yoon-ho.]
* * *
- No lololol, those are very Tae-woo-like reasons.
- Isn’t he going to buy him after all that?
- It’s from a classmate and roommate lol, credibility overflow!
- But would he really lack teamwork? lol would he do that in an official tournament too?
- We’ll know if it was bullshit or sincerity when we see the auction tomorrow, lolol.
Ha Yoon-ho composed his voice for a moment.
If Tae-woo was spreading useless information, he had to properly badmouth him.
‘Even if it’s just the two of us competing, I don’t know how high the price will go, but it’s better to eliminate other competitors as much as possible anyway.’
Ha Yoon-ho had known from the start that Tae-woo was targeting him.
[To be precise, I view it as a bit ambiguous.]
[Is that so?]
[Yes. In the in-house match I hosted a few days ago, Seo Jun beat Spoon, but he didn’t win the game. There weren’t any additional kills in the laning phase either. Meaning it wasn’t overwhelming. Moreover, over the past three days, he only played the same two heroes he used before.]
Seo Jun deliberately played only two heroes to appear meaningful. There was also the advantage of reducing strategy exposure.
And Ha Yoon-ho brought this up.
[One of the things required of an A-group player in RiOS is playmaking. Things like leading the game to victory or turning it around.]
[You’re saying he hasn’t proven himself enough in the league yet!]
[Yes. And his assimilation rate is too low. He might have other heroes he’s bad at. Right now, when we don’t know how it will play out, I see Seo Jun as a risk.]
[Ah. That part must bother you, right?]
[Of course, if it weren’t for this risk, I believe he could have been a top-tier pick even within A-group. Maybe even up to 500 points.]
Each team leader is given points calculated by subtracting the average bid for their leader tier from 1,000 points.
Ha Yoon-ho, therefore, had the most ammo. Of course, since the auction item order is random, point situations would vary depending on circumstances.
[Then what price would you be willing to go in for?]
[If it’s within 200 points, I think it’s worth a shot for me too.]
[Well noted. Then, shall we hear other team leaders’ opinions? Rain! Rain, what did you think?]
The streamer Rain was one of the two female streamers among the six team leaders.
[Huh? Yes. Ah. He’s really good-looking.]
[…….]
[Ah! I didn’t mean anything else, I was just purely admiring. As I was looking at the photo, I blurted it out without thinking.]
[…….]
[Um, my main position is mid too, you know? I don’t think I’ll be picking Seo Jun anyway, so I didn’t really think about it……. Host? Why aren’t you answering? Host?]
- ...
- Wait, where did I put my pitchfork?
- Recruiting people to raid Seo Jun’s stream.
- Really keeps making us viewers feel deprived.
- Damn, I just hate the world.
[I suddenly hate the world too……. Heh heh. Then, Mental, what do you think?]
The host spoke again, having recovered his smile. Mental, an E-tier streamer in his late 30s from a large corporation and same tier as Ha Yoon-ho, responded without much thought.
[I’ll buy him.]
[Huh?]
[Mental?]
[I’m serious.]
[Are you serious?]
[Haha. Since everyone else says they won’t buy, my mind is even more set. I think I’ll have to bring Seo Jun onto my team.]
[I see!]
- Mental hyung... is he the victim this time? lololol
- Everyone says they won’t buy, so why on earth does that make him more determined? lololol
- That’s nuts.
- You can’t break Mental’s stubbornness, gg.
- He’s in his 40s, it’s possible to be stubborn!
- He’s in his late 30s, and you’re subtly fabricating lolol.
At the variable’s own declaration of participation, Tae-woo outwardly forced himself to maintain composure.
‘Damn. I finally set the stage perfectly, and why does that hyung have to bite! How much will I have to spend tomorrow then.’
On the other hand, Ha Yoon-ho steeled his resolve inwardly.
‘Fine. No matter how much it costs, let’s go for it.’