-Wow, they cleared it?
-They collapsed the cliff and wiped them out all at once. Damn.
-So there was a way like that....
-When he said he would collapse the cliff at first, I thought it was impossible, but it actually worked.
-Shin-saster! Shin-saster! Shin-saster! Shin-saster!
-An Under Rank Player is holding off waves alone in a Bronze-level game? And even clearing it?
-Seriously, who the hell is he...?
-LOL, the monsters getting swept away is fucking hilarious.
-Eulji Mundeok (Rock Type)
The chat raced upward at a maddening speed.
Even with my dynamic vision, I could barely keep up with it. My head was beginning to spin when—
“HAHAHAHA! This younger brother had faith in you, brother!”
Jo Ikdeok wrapped me in a bear hug and lifted me into the air.
He was so strong that it felt as though my waist would snap.
“AAAAH! It hurts! I said it hurts!”
“Magnificent, brother!”
“I get it, so put me down!”
Only after being spun around in the air several times was I finally released.
No matter how I looked at it, that Korean Zhang Fei had the makings of a Warrior rather than a Supporter.
“Ahem! Are you all right?”
“Fortunately, I don’t think my bones have been crushed.”
“HAHAHAHA! This humble one simply grew too excited!”
Jo Ikdeok scratched the back of his head with one enormous hand.
“You said your name was Jo Ikdeok, right?”
“That is correct, brother!”
“Your Skill potential as a Supporter is certainly high, but your physical Attributes and natural build are even better. So try becoming a Paladin, a Multi-Position that combines Warrior and Supporter. It’ll suit you far better.”
“Your advice, brother! This younger brother will engrave it deeply in his heart!”
His personality was a little eccentric, but his potential as a Player was quite high.
If he kept this up... I might even meet him in the K.P.L.
“What happened...?”
“Did we succeed...?”
The Archer and Mage struggled to their feet as they nursed the injuries from the surprise attack.
I smiled lightly and shared the news of victory with them as well.
“Yes, we cleared it.”
“...!”
“Th-Thank goodness...!”
At the word clear, they both collapsed to the ground. One pressed a hand to their chest while the other let out a long sigh of relief.
That was how much a single Placement Exam match meant.
There were only three matches to begin with. Losing one meant losing a full third of the whole thing.
“Thank you so much! If it hadn’t been for you, Warrior, we would’ve been in serious trouble!”
“When that damned snake-eyed bastard suddenly attacked us, I didn’t know what would happen.... Thank you, sincerely.”
“You both worked hard, too.”
No matter what, this strategy could not have worked if the two ranged damage dealers had not inflicted enough damage on the cliffs.
Valkyrie Canyon’s cliff-collapse mechanic required far more damage to activate than one might expect.
Because the two of them had trusted me and kept attacking the cliffs, I had been able to bring them down with Fireball.
“If you’re truly grateful, follow the streaming account I’m going to run later. Spread the word among the people you know, too.”
“Of course!”
“Ha ha... I’ll have every acquaintance I know follow you.”
“Does that mean we can continue witnessing your footsteps, brother?! There is no reason not to!”
“Thank you, everyone. Then I should tell you the account’s name.”
I had created a streaming account just before coming here.
For the most effective nickname with which to promote myself.
“Shin Jaeha.”
My real name.
[You have cleared a match above the average level!]
[You became the leader and took charge of clearing the game!]
[You have discovered a hidden map mechanic!]
[Your play has been reflected in your rank placement.]
[Placement Exam:■■□]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[Attribute Points +2]
[Strength +1]
[Stamina +1]
[Mana +1]
[Luck +1]
[+10,000C]
That concluded the second Placement Exam.
Despite the variables of a Team Match and a Bronze-level game, I had cleared it safely.
“Jaeha~!”
Taeya greeted me, his face shining even more brightly than before.
“Geez~ You worked hard! As expected, I believed in you this time, too~.”
He vigorously massaged my shoulders while constantly letting out dopey laughter.
“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“Ahh~ It’s nothing much~.”
Taeya leaned close and whispered in my ear so the viewers could not hear.
He told me the amount of donations that had come in while I played the second game.
“Heh heh heh heh heh heh!”
“Ha ha! Why are you laughing like that?”
“I don’t know~ I’m suddenly in a really good mood. Heh heh heh heh heh!”
“HAHAHAHA! If you’re happy, brother, I’m happy too. Hahahaha!”
“Heh heh heh heh heh heh!”
There was nothing like wealth to make a person generous.
Look at me now. I was laughing for absolutely no reason.
“This is one thing, but the scenes you showed this time were incredible, too. I was impressed even by the way you refused to negotiate with that Troll-Poor and properly punished him.”
“It’s not as though I was conscious of the broadcast.”
“Heh heh, that makes it even better.”
-Seriously, watching that Troll-Poor get taught a lesson was so damn satisfying.
-How dare he threaten our Shin-saster!
-The moment his penalty disappeared, he attacked without a second thought. I fucking loved it LOL.
The chat’s response was incredible as well.
Well, trolls were rampant in Stones, Iron, and Bronze. Naturally, many people had been victimized by bastards like Snake Eyes, so they must have found it vicariously satisfying.
On the other hand, the number of trolls sharply decreased from Silver onward.
People with only enough skill to troll could not reach that Rank, and it was not a tier where people could show up dripping with penalties.
“Well, anyway....”
I gave the camera a capitalist’s smile.
“The Mission was a success, right?”
[Mission Complete!]
[You have received a donation of 5,000,000 won as a reward!]
FANFARE—!
The Mission reward came in alongside a grand burst of fireworks.
‘Five million won! Even split in half, that’s 2.5 million!’
My chin trembled at the enormous amount.
It was enough money to pay for the training room’s repairs several times over.
And if I added that to the donation amount Taeya had told me about earlier....
‘This is crazy.’
I could not even guess how much I had made in a single day.
Should I quit everything and become a Channel Streamer instead?
“Phew!”
I gathered every one of those wicked thoughts and breathed them out.
Right. Money was no more than a means of continuing my plans smoothly.
Once the world ended, money would not mean anything anyway—
[‘K1’ has donated 10,000,000 won!]
<K1 here. We would very much like to meet with Mr. Shin Jaeha.>
What was that?
How many zeroes were there?
“TEEEEN MILLION WON!”
Taeya let out a shriek that was almost a scream and sprang up like a live fish.
-??????
-Ten million won...?
-It isn’t just ten million, but the person who sent it...?!
-K1? Is that real?
-Now even K1 is making him an offer LOL.
-Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen K1 donate directly like that.
An unprecedented amount from an unprecedentedly famous team.
K1 was the greatest of the Three Great Elite Teams of the K.P.L.
“Brother! This is huge! It’s K1!”
Taeya grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard.
I was the one who had received the offer, yet he looked more excited than I was.
‘If it’s K1, the amount makes sense.’
K1 was not only skilled. It was also the wealthiest team.
Its parent company was Hwarang Group, the largest corporation in Korea and one of the largest in all of Asia.
And K1 had extended its hand to me first.
Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of the world would understand how valuable that opportunity was.
If there were a hundred people, all hundred would prostrate themselves and say, “Thank you for bestowing your attention upon one as lowly as me.”
But unfortunately for them—
“Thank you for the generous donation.”
—I was not the one who needed them.
“Likewise, I’ll contact you later.”
-Is that really the right reaction?
-Are you insane? You need to take it immediately!
“The other teams donated as well. I can’t treat them differently just because the amounts are different~.”
-When it’s a tenfold difference, I think you can show a little favoritism.
-For real LOL.
-He’s seriously fascinating.... K1 makes advances toward him, and he bats them away like that....
Even if I were going to join K1, responding to that message now would be a loss.
I had not shown all of my value yet.
Simply put, this was when my price was at its lowest.
‘No one rushes to sell a stock when they know it will rise.’
The other teams had likely noticed that as well and were trying to make recruitment offers while they could acquire me for even a little cheaper.
“Uh... All right. You’ve surely thought everything through, brother.”
Taeya forced himself to nod his creaking head.
“Then, the second Placement Exam is now over!”
-Let’s hurry up and do the last one.
-I can’t wait to see what Rank he gets!
-What if he gets the very top of Iron?
-If he does well, he might become the first person to get Bronze as a placement tier.
-Are we going right away~?!
The viewers’ anticipation reached its limit.
I raised a hand and grinned.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be doing the third Placement Exam today.”
-?
-Excuse me?
-What??
“The last Placement Exam match and the Rank result will take place on my stream. So... follow Shin Jaeha, turn on your alerts, and wait!”
-What the hell?
-That’s bullshit!!! Don’t go!!!
-You’re leaving like this? You’re really leaving like this?
-Stop joking and give us the next game already!
-Please!!! Just one match! Just oooone more!
-Shin Jaeha, you bad man!
As expected, the chat burned warmly.
“Thank you for watching today’s broadcast, too! That’s it! Boop!”
[The broadcast has ended.]
Before the flames could become a major fire, Taeya stepped in at precisely the right moment and ended the stream.
We had planned from the beginning to play the final match on my stream.
-It’s called hooking. Once you gather people first, you can somehow secure regular viewers!
-I think that would be better, too. If you show them everything, they might lose interest in watching your stream.
That had been Taeya and Suhyeok’s opinion.
And the result was—
DING! DING! DING!
[‘Lovely’ has begun following you!]
[‘PotatoDori’ has begun following you!]
[‘NoodleMaster’ has begun following you!]
[‘Tiger71’ has begun following you...!]
.
.
.
Explosive in more ways than one.
“W-What....?”
At that same moment, Joo Yeonseo, who had been watching Taeya’s stream, trembled slightly.
[This broadcast has ended.]
Was it really over just like this?
After she had donated fifteen million won?
“Why didn’t he react when he saw the name K1...?!”
To confirm that the skill she had seen in Underground Prison had not been a fluke, she had personally donated the enormous sum of five million won through her private account and created a Mission.
‘Hmm~ As expected. He is a man both Grandfather and I noticed.’
Shin Jaeha had once again displayed abilities beyond the norm, and Joo Yeonseo had become even more determined to bring him to K1.
That was why she had approached Shin Jaeha by donating ten million won through the K1 account.
-Likewise, I’ll contact you later.
Shin Jaeha’s response had been lukewarm.
It had not differed by a single word from his response when other teams, even second-division teams, had donated.
For her, it was a fresh shock.
“How...? Why...?”
He had not even finished all of his Placement Exams.
She had been watching the broadcast with eager interest, so disappointment and hurt came over her at once.
“Why aren’t you showing any interest?!”
K1 was the greatest Player team in every sense, one that anyone would come running to in their socks.
Yet an Under Rank Player like Shin Jaeha was acting that way, and it irritated her quite a bit.
‘...Could it be?’
A hypothesis flashed through Joo Yeonseo’s mind.
“Is he pretending to be uninterested to increase his own value?”
It was quite a plausible theory.
Certainly, it was better to appear to treat every team equally than to fawn only over K1 and present a mercenary image.
At least, that was the only explanation Joo Yeonseo could think of.
There was no way he had genuinely failed to be shocked by K1.
“Hehe, I see. You have a rather cute side, Jaeha.”
He was someone who knew how to wrap himself up prettily.
And people like that were all the more fun to unwrap.
“Wait just a little. I’ll come and get you.”
A secretive smile spread across Joo Yeonseo’s face.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at that same moment—
“......”
Taeya’s stream was also playing in a corner of Sky Epic’s dedicated training room.