Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 166

Chapter: The Battle of Fate

Suho was a streamer and gamer who once made a name for himself under the nickname SUHO.

A somewhat renowned streamer and a skilled player nearing the celestial realm of Soul Warfare.

It had been several months since he had been schooled after targeting Friede, a prominent user of hacks, with dreams of becoming a corporate-level streamer.

The one-on-one match in the arena, observed by the Game Master, was both Friede’s debut stage and the incident that sent Suho spiraling down, a scandal still talked about in the Soul Warfare community.

After all, she was a female gamer blessed with stunning looks and top-tier skills, so it was only natural for her to attract attention.

While Friede’s popularity soared daily, transcending the celestial realm to ascend into the universe, Suho was instead sinking into hellish days.

Subscribers slipped away daily. Hate comments flooded the channel board.

Despite mustering the courage to start broadcasting again, the viewers dropped to a pitiful level compared to his glorious past, almost to the point of being a mere ordinary person.

The few viewers that did tune in were largely those coming to mock him, rather than support the streamer known as SUHO.

It could be said he was effectively finished in this industry, deemed nothing short of rock bottom.

“That’ll be all for today’s stream.”

[Down~~~]

[Yeah, don’t ever come back]

[Just thinking about how you got buried during the Friede hunting makes my teeth clench.]

“Oh, that matter has been resolved between the parties involved. If you keep bringing it up, I’ll have to ban you.”

[Go ahead and ban me. There are already too few viewers sunk down like you.]

[You know banning a streamer like you has zero impact, right? Look at how much you’ve fallen, Suho.]

“….”

It was a statement hard to argue with, and lacking any viable counter, he quietly ended the stream one day.

Having downgraded from a solid mid-tier streamer to a pathetic hack streamer, he found no rest after signing off. He was immediately engrossed in editing the previous stream.

It had been about a month since his duel with Friede. Now, it was difficult even to hire an editor, so he had to run around by himself, in a pitiful state.

“Ugh, this isn’t going well….”

Even when pouring his best effort into the editing tool to produce a flavorful video, the imperfections felt like a severe source of anxiety. Then, all of a sudden, the Sweetie channel screen that he had shoved aside caught his eye. Within it, the image of a streamer proudly topping the popular broadcast list shone through.

“Friede.”

In just a few months… claiming tens of thousands of real-time viewers. They say that during peak hours, it’s easy to hit over 100,000. Her YouTube channel has surpassed 2 million subscribers, and fans speculated that she would undoubtedly surpass 3 million by the end of the year.

Suho gritted his teeth at the stark contrast to where he stood now—her stunning figure immersed in glorious light.

He once desired to walk that path of glory. But before he knew it, his heart began to fill with jealousy and resentment towards Friede rather than any guilt over his own mistakes.

Just then.

*Ding!*

A notification sound echoed through the speaker. Receiving an email, Suho felt puzzled.

There was no important email worth setting an alert for. To be precise, everyone had already distanced themselves from him.

With half curiosity and half anticipation, he opened the inbox and found…

“Wait, what?”

It was a hacking program.

Having once dipped his toes into it, he couldn’t help but suspect it was a troll who had slipped in through the lines before.

Initially, anxiety washed over him. This was clearly an illegal program, and the hacks in virtual reality were on a completely different level than those used in traditional PC games.

What if it wronged him? What if it caused legal trouble? Those concerns began to gnaw deep within his heart.

Ultimately, unable to resist, he secretly connected online to verify the program’s performance and stability, and upon seeing countless others running hacks in ranked games before him, and observing the game company’s lackadaisical approach, his previously minimal caution evaporated.

Instead of a sense of danger, the desperate delusion materialized that if he used this to perform as well as Friede, he could reclaim his past glory…

Suho laughed at his former self targeting Friede with hacks, and finally became a hacker himself.

And so, he was set to meet her.

* * *

[Curse, they say Devil Suho is a malicious hacker in the celestial realm.]

[The guy who used to be a hack sniper has become a hacker. His moves rival Friede’s.]

[How did it come to this? Tsk tsk.]

As the game began, the chat exploded like popcorn unexpectedly.

The audience expected a dynamic show from the very start, jammed with delightful key phrases. But no one could have predicted how quickly events would unfold in a way that felt like a storyteller switching roles. The grotesque shift from a once-proud streamer to a hack user, contrasted with Friede’s impressive visage, gave the viewers a tantalizing taste.

As the game kicked off and players scattered in their respective positions, Friede spoke up from their base.

“I’ve heard that a hacker named Devil Suho is here, so I’ll mark him. If anyone crosses paths with him, please report to the rest. Until then, I’ll hold my ground at the central lane.”

“Eh? Are you sure you’re okay? Rumor has it he sent even a Warden packing.”

One team member worriedly chimed in, but Friede shook her head and smiled.

“That’s why I need to go. As long as I cover at least one, we should be fine. If I can take down the hacker, it’s practically a guaranteed victory for my team, so please trust me.”

“Well, if you say so, Friede, we can’t help but follow.”

“Okay, let’s deliver a blow to that hacker!”

“Let’s see how it goes, and if things get tough, just holler. I’ll support you as an archer, Friede.”

“Sounds good!”

With the team’s encouragement, Friede’s soft smile grew brighter.

“Let’s make sure we win.”

Ah, the teammates, struck by Friede’s smile, blushed as adrenaline surged through them.

The burden of fighting a hacker, the irritation—all disappeared in an instant. Only a positive spirit to shine with Friede remained, invigorating their resolve.

With this in mind, they had no choice but to play the game of their lives. At the very least, they wanted a performance that could be immortalized as a legendary video.

[Friede’s smile is pure gold!]

[Wow, with that face smiling to cheer us on, anyone would be pumped to game hard.]

[Hey, Friede, cut it out with the beauty tactics.]

[What if that hacker plays hardball but gets a quick surrender from the opposing team just with her smile?]

[No idea!]

[Honestly, if it’s Friede, she could probably rally all the celestial realm’s female warriors and dominate the rankings.]

[LOL, what a bunch of die-hard suck-ups.]

With a grin amidst the lively chatter, Friede entered the right flank route alone.

In a tense moment facing the potential most powerful adversary of his Soul Warfare career, she marched on, surveying her surroundings as if it were a mere picnic.

It wasn’t a pleasant scene. Choosing this location for a picnic would certainly earn an interrogation about her sanity.

However, something felt right about this path now; intuitively, she felt drawn to follow this road.

‘I’ve never felt like this before.’

Even in confrontations with renowned players like Warden and Lotus, she never felt this way.

This felt less like gaming… rather, like going to exorcise a demon. Though comparing a hacker to a demon might be a harsh evaluation.

At that moment, from a dark corner where the light of the torches could not reach, a swift attack was unleashed, like a sharp beak of a bird of prey.

“Whoosh!”

With a peculiar battle cry that surprisingly rang out, Friede elegantly dodged to the side and steadied her Holy Sword, focusing her gaze ahead.

Though it was a miscalculation, her eyes contained a high degree of fervor….

And in its place now stood the familiar figure of a man, his eyes murky like a tainted sky.

Though they were at odds once, she wanted to express her gratitude, but before her greeting could end, Suho lunged forward.

Though he had once reacted well in the past, it was nothing compared to the blinding speed he bore now.

Suho’s weapon was a prosthetic sword.

A creative weapon composed of a prosthetic arm attached to a fresh style of sword.

Desperation lingered in his movements, as if he wanted to hide the ugliness of his downfall.

*Clang!*

With the sharp ringing of metal, Suho’s prosthetic sword met Friede’s Holy Sword.

A war of nerves unfolded, with each trying to twist the angle of their blades against the other, sparks flying between their locked swords.

On force, neither seemed to yield significantly; it truly felt like a standoff.

If it continued, they would only endlessly display their strength. Friede subtly stepped back, shifting her balance.

In that moment of give and take, as if defying inertia, her body pushed right, crossing paths with his.

An unbelievable body balance. Suho felt as if he was being suffocated by Friede’s incredible technique.

‘She’s even stronger than last time.’

He involuntarily clenched his teeth.

Had she not gained boosted stats through a hacking program, he might have given in at that moment.

The tale of overwhelming a world-class professional gamer alone was evidently no exaggeration.

No, it didn’t matter. He had known all along she was that strong a prey.

Wanting to leave no traces, unlike the foolish who blatantly used their hacks, he had activated his powers at critical moments. But facing Friede, he sensed it was time to expose himself without reserve.

‘Going all out.’

Seeing Suho burning with fighting spirit, Friede smirked.

“You know, it’s still a shame you didn’t greet me considering our past. I’m a bit disappointed. If you’re just going to stand there, I’ll take the lead.”

With a teasing smile, Friede raised one hand casually.

“Hey~! Long time no see~!”

With such an obvious provocation, it was only natural that Suho’s expression twisted uncontrollably.

In the daunting depths of the sprawling maze within the old castle,

Once just a suspect hacker and a hacking sniper streamer, they stood with strangely entwined positions, swords pointed at each other.