Chapter 66
Day 8 of the battlefield.
One of the Unorthodox Faction's territories was captured by the Orthodox Faction, but as if anticipating this, the Unorthodox Faction likewise seized one of the Orthodox Faction's territories.
Day 9.
Both the Unorthodox and Orthodox Factions each reclaimed the territories they had lost.
They had merely traded light jabs.
The signs that the battlefield was about to begin in earnest were emerging.
And during all this, in the Demon Cult—
nothing happened.
As before, those meant to defend defended, and those meant to attack attacked.
Nothing changed, of course.
In the “At Least for Second Place” chat, the Demon Cult rankers had told Seojun that they were conserving their strength. It wasn't very credible.
The Orthodox and Unorthodox Factions didn't seem to pay much attention to the Demon Cult either.
"Hey, wait. You’re telling me that capsule was rented?"
Taewoo’s eyes widened as he ran on the treadmill.
"And that if you win in Rios, they’ll give you that capsule, so that’s what you’re aiming for?"
"Yeah."
"Right. Now that you mention it, that thing you’re using—isn’t that the new top-of-the-line model?"
"Yup."
"Whoa. Insane. Are they really allowed to just lend something that expensive to some streamer? They don’t even have a rental service! Can a company do that? Huh? Isn’t that special treatment?"
"It’s the company’s call. If you don’t like it, quit virtual reality and go protest."
Or try boycotting them.
"…That’s a bit much. Well, I guess they could lend it."
I knew it.
If you’re going to back down right away, just don’t bring it up in the first place.
"But seriously, why?"
Hm. Had I not mentioned it?
"I have a unique constitution."
Seojun stopped the treadmill.
"Yeah? What kind of unique constitution?"
Ah, right.
I’ve been a streamer for a while now. I guess I never said.
Seojun explained the situation to Taewoo.
"Ah, so that’s it. Wait, so that old capsule story was real too? I always thought it was just you talking nonsense like you usually do."
Taewoo also stopped running and gulped down some water.
"Since when do I talk nonsense?"
"You do it all the time. So what was your old ID?"
"What would you do with that info anyway?"
"Just curious. Weren’t you crazy good back then too?"
"No. I wasn’t good back then."
"No way. I feel like you’ve been exactly the same ever since middle school, even elementary school."
I didn’t know what that “exactly the same” meant, but it somehow annoyed me.
"Anyway, if you don’t win Rios, you’ll have to buy the capsule, right? So are you going to quit streaming then?"
"No."
"Oh. That’s surprising. You said you can’t use anything but the new model. Are you really going to buy it with your own money?"
I’d already decided a long time ago.
"I’ll have to. What other choice do I have?"
Seojun answered nonchalantly.
"Whoa. Is this the dignity of an 8k-viewer streamer? You’re almost catching up to me."
The standard for a mid-tier streamer was at least 10,000 regular viewers.
But Taewoo was on the higher end among mid-tier streamers.
So saying he’d caught up was a bit of a stretch.
And in terms of regular viewers, Seojun was still only at half that number.
"Stop talking nonsense. Anyway, there’s probably a limit from here on. I’m worried about what to do."
Two weeks after the battlefield ends, Rios would begin.
I wanted to increase my viewers as much as possible by then.
"Well, with your skill, you’ll probably be able to enter Rios."
"But it’s still not 10,000."
Usually, most mid-tier streamers with 10,000 viewers get accepted if they apply.
Because even though they’re called mid-tier, their numbers aren’t that large.
"True. Even if it were me, it’d be a bit depressing if I couldn’t even enter the tournament and was forced to buy a capsule worth over 100 million won."
Trying and failing is one thing.
But being denied the chance to even try—that’s detestable.
"I need to minimize the chances of getting rejected."
"That makes sense."
Seojun leaned his back against the front of the treadmill and looked around the gym.
He spotted a person exercising with noticeably big movements and shouts.
"But I wonder why he turned out like that."
Taewoo also leaned beside him and watched.
"Yeah. Didn’t that guy absolutely hate this place when he first came?"
"He did."
"That was because of you. You kept calling him onto the ring."
"That’s true too."
That person’s identity was the World's Greatest Swordsman, whom he’d met in real life.
At some point, he’d become fanatically obsessed with weight training, and now he was passionately lifting heavy weights alongside other muscular middle-aged men around him.
"One! Two! Three! Four! Five!"
"That’s it! That’s the way! Young man, your form is excellent."
Seojun watched the scene and clicked his tongue.
The martial way is not gained through that kind of training.
"Traditionally, the martial way is…"
"Shut it, old man. I’ve been hearing that since high school."
"…Fine."
Was that always the case?
Seojun didn’t remember but let it go.
"So. What are you going to do about viewers? The battlefield buff has its limits, right?"
"Well, sort of."
It was hard to call it a limit.
The number of viewers gained through the battlefield was far higher than expected.
It would likely continue to grow.
But with 10,000 just within reach, the desire to safely participate in Rios had simply emerged.
Well, who knows how it’ll turn out?
If someone had told him a year ago that he’d be streaming like this now, and that he’d be enjoying it—would he have believed it?
"Ah! I think I know a surefire way."
"What."
"Create a controversy. Deliberately. Snipe famous streamers and curse at them."
"?"
"Then 30,000 viewers are possible. Seriously."
As expected. My friend is out of his mind.
Seojun sighed.
"Or just ditch the battlefield altogether and do the penalty right now. If you do that, you’ll easily hit 50,000 live viewers. Come to think of it, what are you even worrying about? Right, bro? Or sis?"
Does this guy not realize that’s even more serious?
* * *
Seojun moved away to avoid Taewoo’s nonsense.
Up on the ring, Lee Dong-su was sparring with some athlete.
"Hey, why did you come over here? Whoa there."
The gym owner gestured at Seojun and started to be on guard as he got closer.
"The guy you brought here and tormented for a while—he’s exercising over there, so hurry up and go away."
He was trying to chase him out this badly?
Seojun made a dumbfounded face.
"I just came to watch."
"Really? You’re really just going to watch? Yeah?"
"Then what else can I do besides watch?"
Hearing that, the owner’s face also shifted to match Seojun’s.
Then he spoke with a voice tinged with a bit of resentment and grudge.
"Punch a pro fighter."
"?"
"Punch an already bruised spot."
"…"
"Call over the guy you already beat up and punch the bruised spot again."
"I mean…"
"Hover nearby, give unsolicited advice, and when they snap back, punch them again."
Did I really?
"I don’t think I went that far."
I genuinely think there’s no need to get so serious.
"Are you even human?"
"Where would you find a normal person like me? When was I ever that violent?"
"Wow… wow. Seriously. You!"
The owner grabbed the back of his neck.
And right on cue, Lee Dong-su finished his sparring and came down.
"Is something wrong?"
"No. And Seojun—I don’t know what you’re planning, but please, just take it easy. Got it?"
A sniffle could be heard.
Hm. He must be having a rough time lately.
"He’s getting old, so I should be understanding."
Seojun chalked it up to some personal issue and let it go, while Lee Dong-su took off his headgear and approached him.
"Hyung, do you know about that?"
Worried sweat might spray, Seojun discreetly stepped back.
"What."
"I’m doing the battlefield too."
"Yeah? What faction?"
"I was originally with the Green Forest, but I followed you and moved to the Demon Cult."
"Did you really have to?"
"…"
Was that not the reaction he’d hoped for?
"What’s your nickname?"
"Bandit King."
"Then you should’ve just stayed with the Unorthodox Faction."
"I mean…"
Why did he choose the Demon Cult?
Wasn’t it precisely because of the nickname?
Traditionally, a nickname and its concept must match.
"Well, the Demon Cult guys do have a bandit-like side to them. So it might work?"
That’s right.
Come to think of it, in my previous life, the Demon Cult had been no different from bandits.
They had martial arts, so they were a bit stronger, and because of their cult leader, their organization was tighter—but their essence was no different from thieves.
"Haha, I suppose so… Ah. Please keep my identity a secret. It’s my alt account."
"Alt account?"
I’d heard about this.
Professionals were exceptionally given an extra capsule account.
I’d heard they could even get up to three if they requested.
"Interesting. Got it."
"A second account is nice because you can play or practice without pressure. By the way, hyung, how much reputation have you collected?"
"I haven’t checked, so I don’t know."
"Really? A ranker hyung I know predicted you’d have collected the most."
"Who knows."
Since all of Seojun’s actions were exposed, many people speculated that he must have accumulated an unusually high amount of reputation.
He’d finished most games at a level far beyond just stomping noobs, and in raids, he’d set unprecedented records.
It was enough to put him on the rankers’ radar.
"Still, they said not to let your guard down."
"Huh?"
"After today’s battlefield, everyone’s contributions will be fully revealed."
"Right."
It’s a system that encourages checks and balances among the top rankers.
Having something like this does make it more fun.
"And the day after that, the game mode is a tournament, and they said things could get flipped then."
"Ah. I know that too."
"Oh, you do? I was going to tell you in case you didn’t know. That’s a relief."
So far, he had played the games a little—just a little—recklessly.
But it’s not like I jump in without doing any research.
I felt a bit wronged.
"Tomorrow’s game—even though contributions only stack for up to four matches, you can keep playing indefinitely, so you can keep accumulating reputation. Right?"
"Yes."
It’s vicious.
Showing how far behind you are and how far ahead others have gotten, and then the very next day, giving you a chance to overturn it.
But it’s hard to fully exploit the fact that you can play continuously.
Because you’ll be matched against opponents of similar skill levels.
"I’m looking into everything too, you know."
"Fair enough."
Lee Dong-su nodded as if convinced.
"Are you messing with me?"
"No."
"Then where did you meet that hyung of yours?"
"Ah. I have some people I got close to while playing games. Why?"
"No reason, it just seemed like you weren’t in the faction chat room."
Seojun thought of the Demon Cult’s faction chat—whose name alone was pitiful.
‘At Least for Second Place’.
Anyway, there didn’t seem to be a user named Bandit King there.
"There was something like that?"
So he just didn’t know about it.
"Hold on, I’ll invite you to the Demon Cult faction chat."
"Yep."
Seojun invited Lee Dong-su to the faction chat room.
"Uh, but why is this chat room’s name like this? Is this really where the rankers gather?"
Unfortunately, it was.
[At Least for Second Place]
-A new recruit.
-A ranker, eh? Welcome.
-You were an Unorthodox Faction member? Welcome.
-You’ve never done the battlefield before? Welcome.
-Anyway, welcome. Even if you’re a spy, welcome.
Even though I had never really participated in the conversations, I had no idea it would feel this embarrassing.
"Hmm… should I just leave?"
Lee Dong-su muttered seriously.
Looks like any goodwill evaporated in an instant.
"Why? They’re welcoming you. Isn’t that nice?"
"Are you serious?"
"No."
Seojun cut him off bluntly. Honestly, it did look kind of shabby.
But despite all that, Lee Dong-su quickly adapted to the atmosphere.
As expected of a sociable high school guy.
-I, Bandit King, bow to my Demon Cult seniors!
-Welcome, Bandit Lord!
-What's with Bandit Lord. Anyway, nice to meet you.
-What took you so long to come?
-It's my first time on the battlefield, so I didn't know there was a chat like this. But I have been collecting reputation steadily since the start of this battlefield, so you don't need to worry.
-No one was worried. As members of the Demon Cult, we are simply satisfied as long as you enjoy the game.
-Yep.
His mental fortitude seemed a bit lacking.
-By the way, Heavenly Demon, how much are your contributions and reputation?
-I am curious too.
-Can anyone be higher?
-It’ll be revealed today. Just wait.
People everywhere seemed to be curious about his contributions.
Seojun typed a message to change the subject.
-So, not attacking today either?
-No.
-We must defend.
-And if the enemies attack?
-That still doesn’t mean we can go attack...
-No, we are conserving our strength.
-Everything is for second place!
These people...