Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 56

What the Hell: An Unexpected Crisis

The object that we had been diligently tracking had somehow slipped into the hands of the opposing team—specifically, Friede’s hands—and everyone was in shock.

We had been on high alert while hunting the object, so where did they even come from…?

“Everyone, check your surroundings!”

“How did they land the final hit without even seeing an arrow?”

“I can’t see them! Where the hell did they come from?!”

“If we knew, would we be standing around like this? Did this game really have an invisibility enchantment?”

Concentrating three players in one spot was a decision made in light of the personnel deficit, hoping to block Friede’s attempt while accepting the risk of diminished firepower as a high-ranked user.

But having the object stolen in such an effortless manner meant our current investment was like a dog chasing after a chicken, accomplishing nothing.

With red eyes filled with irritation and anger, I scanned the area, yet I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of Friede’s trace, which was driving me mad.

“Haha, is this gonna spark another hacking controversy?”

“For the ones on the receiving end, this is a chaotic disaster. Haha.”

“Honestly, it’s hard not to suspect hacking here.”

“If we viewers know it’s not hacking, what can those who are playing do?”

“Feels like watching a hacker shoot from above while breaking through the map in an FPS.”

The chat was boiling with disbelief, completely ignorant of the fact that it was possible to steal an object with a thrown weapon.

There have been notable steals of major objects in the pro scene before, but those typically involved conventional weaponry, not a spoon-killer like a thrown weapon.

For long-distance steals, weapons notorious for high single-hit damage, like the Great Bow, had been the norm. Even a dagger, with its critical hit modifiers, paled in damage compared to the Great Bow.

Moreover…

“Thrown weapons don’t even have aim correction.”

Yunha recognized the key point of the recent play, her mind momentarily blank.

It literally required hitting based on one’s instincts, demanding far more physical precision than any other weapon.

Of course, the effect pales in comparison to the invested physicality.

As those thoughts crept in, chills covered my body.

In an unstable position against the wall, amidst distant targets that refused to yield any effect, we managed to land the finishing hit without any system corrections.

“What’s this, who is this person…?”

They’re ridiculously good, aren’t they?

Even though I had heard rumors about Friede, I simply thought she was an exceptionally skilled player.

A high-ranked female gamer was often referred to derogatorily as a proxy player, but Yunha had always pushed through with sheer skill.

She felt a sense of kinship, recognizing that Friede, too, had proven herself as a skilled female gamer amidst such negative stigma.

But witnessing this play made me question whether I should view her merely as a skilled gamer.

How focused and quick should one’s reflexes be to pull off such artistic gameplay?

Could it be that Friede might actually win the brawl tournament and challenge me to a one-on-one match?

No, more importantly…”

Am I going to lose?

Until now, I had felt confident facing any opponent, but seeing Friede shattered the confidence I had even when up against Warden—Kim Chan-hyuk.

As a fellow female gamer, instead of feeling kinship, it awakened a sense of impending danger.

Meanwhile, the game was quickly progressing.

Eventually, the trio, tired of searching without any trace, decided to move on for the next major object hunt.

After all, stalling any longer only benefited those who had invested too many personnel.

In a rush, they quickly sped up their footsteps, resigned to the depletion of stamina.

They bit their lips in frustration.

“We can only pass it off as having hid well among furniture or pillars since the detour maze isn’t that vast…”

They moved on with the lesson learned that they needed to be more thorough against the next hunted object.

“Hey! Lucky roll!”

“Hey, this guy is here!”

“If we snag this, we can almost recover our losses from before.”

“Let’s move quickly!”

Once they spotted the object, their bruised minds momentarily forgotten the recent unfair steal, instantly transitioning into a state of glee.

A grotesque creature, merging the body of a worm with that of a saint.

The iconic Soul Warfare object shone before them, promising exceptional effects in the current meta, making them swiftly forget the earlier losses.

“I’ll take point while keeping watch. You all grab it quickly.”

“Okay, we’ll take care of it too, while being as cautious as possible.”

With the nagging fear that Friede could steal the final blow again, they began the hunt with one member taking point in defense.

The boss, swinging a staff forged from dark and chaotic elements, caused the area to decay and burn.

Alongside this, arrows rained down from the sky, and its massive body moved with agility, teleporting around, causing confusion.

Like a reimagined original boss from story mode, it was an intensely vicious page.

Occasionally, they offered light support with their secondary equipment, maintaining a token defense in case the boss drew near. Meanwhile, Geombangganji was frantically searching for any traces of Friede.

This was the most exhausting moment of a ranked game I’d experienced in recent times.

The object’s health critically dwindling, tension mounted among everyone.

Instinctively, they understood. When a prey of this caliber appeared, no one would let it slip away.

“Come on, let’s go!”

This time, I will definitely block it.

Standing at the ready with the massive tower shield, Geombangganji vowed to leap in and defend once spotted.

“Let’s go, team!”

Shouting forth a boisterous battle cry, they signaled that they were nearing the finale.

The trio tightened their ropes of tension; not just Geombangganji, but also Taiyanghuiking and damduk remained on high alert.

And then…

—Whoosh!

“Wait?”

Perhaps it was because I was standing right in front of the boss.

A streak of light slicing through the air unintentionally grazed my cheek in that moment.

—Kieeeek!

The agonizing wail of the boss struck everyone’s ears.

“Ah….”

Geombangganji watched, dumbfounded.

This time, they swore to the heavens, having concentrated every nerve in guarding yet feeling helpless not having found any trace of Friede.

The alert indicating that Friede had once again monopolized the object flashed before them, inciting outbursts from not only the trio but their teammates in other positions too.

Even if they were high-tier players, something so commonplace happening at this very moment left all parties gazing at one another in sheer hopelessness.

Yet, how long could they remain silent?

“Damn it!”

Even the mightiest dam couldn’t withstand a small crack, crumbling.

“Hey, Geombang! Why aren’t you keeping an eye out? What if you let this one slip too?”

“What? Am I seriously the only one keeping track of the boss? You all should have seen the signs too! Plus, why is it taking us so long to take this boss down? If we stall, it’ll come again and steal everything!”

“But even so, this time, you barely did anything in the boss fight and sat back in defense; the shield got pierced, didn’t it? Doesn’t this seem a bit problematic?”

“Shut up! Play your part and act like you should, rather than acting all high and mighty!”

Geombangganji shot back heatedly, criticizing the other players, a feud boiling over from their previous frustrations.

When the game didn’t go as planned, it led to the all-too-common internal discord.

In a game where ranks matter, especially in team-based play, this was a phenomenon familiar to most.

However, it was utterly entertaining for the observer.

Especially for the viewers of Friede.

Even though they couldn’t see the opposing team chat, they could still gauge the situation.

With expressions and gestures, they could easily infer how the events were unfolding.

The mutterings that could not be heard from the players were reimagined vividly in the minds of the viewers, adding flavor to their viewing experience.

“Do you know why these guys are messing up so badly?”

“Because they’re just repeating their pathetic plays in this situation.”

“Their tier’s wasted on having such a pathetically narrow view.”

“Can’t tell if it’s a Great Bow or a dagger stealing that kill, they’re completely dazed.”

“Don’t fight.”

“You’ll all die.”

“Damn crazy idiots, this rhyme is insane.”

“What even is… teamwork?”

“Aren’t we all in this together?”

“They only act unified in times like these… it’s creepy, honestly. Haha.”

The flow of chat was the most unified it had been during the broadcast, even surprising Friede herself.

“Let’s not fight; let’s at least secure the next one. If it doesn’t work out, let’s disband.”

Reluctantly pulling back, damduk suggested, unable to fight any longer.

Yet, damduk’s mediation did little to improve the situation.

From this moment on, Geombangganji, Taiyanghuiking, and damduk failed to secure even a single object.

In the heat of disputes, damduk could no longer hold on, and he mysteriously disconnected.

* * *

The broadcast continued.

Always the same boring Ninja Warrior that… isn’t even funny as a concept.

Yet for Yunha, whether a Ninja Warrior, Islam Warrior, or Hero of Light, this became the very impetus that drove her to act.

“….”

Without needing to watch the entirety of Friede’s broadcast, she immediately logged into virtual reality.

The objective: Soul Warfare ranked match.

After the season’s end, dull senses required a sharpening.

“Time to get strong.”

In this very moment, it was crucial to re-sharpen her skills.

This brawl tournament.

After all, it was for the league that her very own team was hosting.

There was no way she could just mess around and suffer an embarrassing defeat.

The pro warrior who would stop the fiercest amateur had to be none other than herself.

She realized she needed to prepare seriously… firmly resolved, Yunha prepared herself.