CLINK!
Two drinking glasses met, ringing out in a bright harmony.
“Today, it’s on me. Eat as much as you like.”
“Really? Heh! To think I’d get Jaeha to buy me drinks. You really do live long enough to see everything.”
Suhyeok’s eyes lit up as he picked up the menu.
It was our dinner after the live broadcast.
With K1’s final enormous donation, along with Taeya saying that he had done nothing and that we should settle at a 7:3 split in my favor, I was even more flush with money than before.
Thanks to that, we could freely enjoy all sorts of luxurious foreign liquor and expensive dishes...!
Except we did not.
“Three servings of pork belly, and one bottle each of soju and beer, please~!”
We had come to a barbecue restaurant near Suhyeok’s home.
Neither of us enjoyed expensive food or alcohol all that much in the first place.
Even on the eve of the world’s destruction, we had been sipping lukewarm beer at a shabby bar on the outskirts. What difference did it make?
“Today really was huge, Jaeha!”
Suhyeok placed a well-grilled slice of pork belly onto my plate.
“Look at this. I took a screenshot earlier.”
He pulled out his phone and showed me the real-time popularity rankings on the streaming app.
[No. 1 - Taeya]
Taeya’s broadcast was ranked first.
Judging from how his viewer count had increased several dozen times compared to usual, there must have been an enormous influx from outside.
‘No wonder he so readily raised my share of the settlement.’
He had been neatly collecting his gains elsewhere.
“You know what it means that so many viewers saw a broadcast where you were the star, right?”
“It means I’ve become that much more famous.”
“Exactly. Fame is a powerful weapon for someone preparing to become a pro!”
From now on, teams seeking to recruit me would have to pay not only for my ability, but also for my other value.
The cost of using the character called Shin Jaeha to promote their team.
“Of course, it’s still too early to relax. Popularity gained quickly is just as volatile. To make the popularity you’ve gained truly yours, you need to show something even more convincing.”
“My first broadcast will be where I show it.”
I dipped the pork belly on my plate into sesame oil and put it into my mouth.
The savory, chewy taste of fresh pork belly gently wrapped around my tongue.
That was right... We were eating fresh pork belly.
Fresh pork belly, not frozen pork belly!
“If you can hold on to even one-tenth of the attention you got today, the contracts teams offer you will change completely.”
“That thought whets my appetite. I don’t need anything to drink with. This is it!”
“Ha ha! You’re right! This is it!”
Suhyeok downed the soju-beer cocktail mixed in the perfect ratio and exhaled in satisfaction.
“...But are you really okay?”
“With what?”
“K1. Honestly, I thought you would contact them right away. That would be the normal thing to do.”
Suhyeok was right.
How many Players in Korea could turn down an offer from K1?
Maybe a pro who had already found his own colors could, but it was astonishing enough for a mere Under Rank Player to receive an offer from K1. And I had not even accepted it immediately.
“K1 is an incredible place. It can make a team like Sky Epic look like nothing.”
“I know. Nam Siwoo is the Captain there, and there’s no need to even talk about Hwarang Group.”
“This is just my personal opinion, but I think you should at least talk with K1. If you find that your views align, who knows? You might really end up joining them.”
Joining K1.
The highest seat in the K.P.L., coveted by everyone who dreamed of becoming a professional Player.
What was a lifelong wish that some people could never attain had now come before me.
‘But.’
Unfortunately, I had no intention of joining K1 right now.
“I have plans of my own. You don’t need to worry so much, Hyung.”
“Is that so? Then that’s enough. You’ll know how to handle it.”
Suhyeok did not force his own thoughts on me any further.
Even though, viewed objectively, turning down that offer was foolish.
Pfft!
His deep trust made me let out an involuntary laugh.
“Then, on to the next topic....”
SIZZLE—!
Suhyeok placed more pork belly onto the grill.
“How did it happen?”
“What did?”
“That strength of yours. Fine, you’ve always had a sharp mind, so I can understand you discovering hidden mechanics. But how did you get so strong? Did leaving Sky Epic make you undergo a great awakening from sadness and rage or something?”
The meat browned on the grill.
The scent of charcoal tickled my nose.
“Do I look like a Saiyan?”
Become stronger by using anger as power?
I found the idea absurd and tossed back the liquid in my shot glass.
‘It should be all right to tell Suhyeok.’
He was not just anyone.
Before my Regression, Suhyeok had been both the beginning and end of all my connections. He was someone I would continue living alongside from now on.
‘Of course, the moment I tell him about Regression, he’ll arrange a psychiatric consultation, so I’ll keep that hidden.’
I revealed only one truth.
That my Constitution had evolved.
“Your Constitution evolved...?”
“Even I was surprised.”
I mixed in events from before my Regression and made the process sound plausible.
“S-So what Grade is your Constitution now?!”
“S-Grade.”
“...?!”
I pulled up only the Constitution section of my Status Window and showed it to Suhyeok.
“Ugh... Ugh...!”
It was only natural for him to be shocked.
I had gained an S-Grade Constitution, something possessed by only five people in the entire world.
It would not have been strange for him to scream in disbelief—
“Th-Thank goodness....”
“...What?”
Contrary to my expectations, Suhyeok set down his glass and suddenly burst into tears.
I knew alcohol made him sentimental.
But seeing him cry so openly out of nowhere left me even more flustered.
“Waaah!”
“Do you know how worried I was when you quit everything and left? You were always going on about how badly you wanted to become a pro.... As your older brother, it broke my heart to watch you cling to a dream that could never come true....”
“......”
“But you’re finally... finally seeing the light... This is really so good... Waaah!”
“What kind of grown adult cries so grossly over something like that?”
...Yes, this was the kind of person he was.
Even when I became a useless Player with zero Mana.
Even when I became a defective product no one would seek out.
Suhyeok alone had always believed in me and stayed by my side.
“Heh heh, how are you going to manage if you cry over something this small? There’s still a long way to go. If you cry every time something like this happens, you’ll die of dehydration.”
“Hmph! I won’t die until I get you to buy me a full course of beef!”
I smiled faintly at Suhyeok as he shouted through his tears.
He preferred pork belly, yet he sure knew how to talk.
‘Yes. If only for the future where I buy Hyung all the beef he wants.’
I had to fasten the next button properly, too.
DING! DING!
[‘Acusta’ has begun following you!]
[‘zlGodSweetPotato’ has begun following you!]
[Shin Jaeha - Followers: 15,000]
The final remaining Placement Exam.
“Block that side!”
“Urgh...!”
An attack dug into his side.
Park Gyubo, who had been sent flying, clenched his teeth and rose from the floor.
“Training is over for today! Everyone, go back and rest!”
“Good work!”
Sky Epic’s Players shouted in unison.
“Ugh... Fuck....”
“Gyubo, you’ve been making far too many mistakes today.”
The coach approached Park Gyubo with a concerned expression.
“Are you all right? Are you hurt somewhere? Should we clear tomorrow’s training schedule?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. I was simply off today. It won’t happen again from tomorrow onward.”
“That is a relief. Get some rest, then.”
As the coach stepped away, Park Gyubo slammed a fist into the ground.
BANG—!
Today’s training had been a complete disaster.
He had let through every attack he would normally block even while yawning, and every one of his own attacks had missed.
The cause of it all was the broadcast he had watched yesterday.
“Shin Jaeha...! How could that piece of trash...!”
He had watched Taeya’s broadcast as well.
It had become a topic of conversation in every way, and since it had ranked first in popularity, finding someone who had not watched it would have been harder.
‘That bastard got that strong? In only a few days?’
Until recently, Shin Jaeha had been like a sandbag that Park Gyubo beat up whenever he felt like relieving his stress.
And now, he was a promising prospect at the level where K1 reached out first.
“Damn it! It’s a scam! He has to be cheating!”
There was no hiding it. Park Gyubo was also a fervent K1 fan and a Player who desperately wanted to join the team.
He was such a fan of Nam Siwoo, the Captain, that he secretly collected merchandise.
‘They did not even spare me a glance until I became a starter for Sky Epic, yet they came running after that trash because he showed off a few impressive plays?!’
It was infuriating.
He could not stand it.
“AAAAH!”
After raging for a while in the empty training room, Park Gyubo finished bathing and entered the lounge as though resigned.
There was already someone else in the lounge.
“...!”
Long white hair and a delicate figure.
A woman with a mystical air, like a flower blossoming in a snowfield.
Sky Epic’s first-team Archer, Baek Heeyeon.
“Ahem!”
Park Gyubo cleared his throat and deliberately lowered his voice.
“Hi, Heeyeon? What are you doing alone in the lounge? Don’t tell me you came to see me? Haha!”
“......”
“Hello? Say something.”
“Yeah, hi.”
Park Gyubo had a crush on Baek Heeyeon.
The reason was, naturally, her face.
Her personality was a little unusual, but she was beautiful enough to slap most actors across the face twice.
Because of that, she was Sky Epic’s most popular Player, leading the team in uniform sales.
Of course, she also possessed skill worthy of that popularity.
“Ha ha... This worked out well. As the team’s two great pillars, there was something important I needed to discuss with you. This season—”
RING—!
Before Park Gyubo could finish speaking, Baek Heeyeon’s phone notification went off.
After checking it, her face—
Brightened ever so slightly.
‘S-She smiled?! Baek Heeyeon?!’
Her expression changed so rarely that people even spread rumors that Baek Heeyeon had facial paralysis.
Even Park Gyubo, who had encountered her countless times as a teammate, was seeing her make an expression for the first time.
“Sorry. Let’s talk later.”
“Uh... Huh?”
“Something urgent came up.”
“W-Wait...!”
Before Park Gyubo had the chance to stop her, Baek Heeyeon hurried to her room.
Then she immediately lay down in bed, pulled the covers around herself, and clicked the alert.
[‘Shin Jaeha,’ whom you follow, has begun a live stream!]
The long-awaited final Placement Exam.
The moment she entered the broadcast, a familiar face appeared on-screen.
A face that, during his time at Sky Epic, had always worn nothing but sadness.
[Yeees—welcome, everyone. Oh, so many of you came.]
It was now openly bright and full of confidence.
[Thank you all for the follows. As promised, today we’ll do the final Placement Exam and reveal my placement Rank.]
-Finally, Shin Jaeha has crawled out.
-I followed even though I normally never do.
-Shin Jaeha has appeared!
-Can we log into Channel already?
-Placement Exam! Placement Exam! Placement Exam!
-If you don’t get Bronze after all this, you’d better be ready.
-Is this really his first broadcast? The momentum is crazy LOL.
-Hey, he already appeared twice on Taeya’s broadcast~.
-Hello, rookie streamer Shin Jaeha? There’s a time-honored tradition for rookies to dance in a three-panel split screen....
-Show us your hammer. Sing a song. Dance.
Baek Heeyeon smiled so faintly that no one would have noticed.
Then, amid the chat racing upward at a frightening speed, she timidly posted a single message.
-Log in already!!! RAAAAH! I can’t take it anymore! HYAAAH! AAAAH!!! Smash them all with your hammer!!!
Really, a very timid little message....
[Th-This person is rather excited. Calm down, please.]
Shin Jaeha read Baek Heeyeon’s chat and twitched his eyebrows in confusion.
In any case, that was that.
[Then I’ll begin! The final round of the Placement Exam!]
At long last, the final Placement Exam everyone had been waiting for began.