“Professor Cheon Kyujin is doing pure mathematics? It’s a ridiculous claim.”
This was the thought of Professor Baek, who shared a laboratory floor with Professor Cheon.
Professor Cheon specialized in materials engineering. Although he had background knowledge in theoretical physics and analysis primarily due to dealing with ductile materials, it was clear that he had ventured into something irrational.
He was certain that Professor Cheon had definitely received a request from the child’s parents as part of a star-making scheme.
The reason he had become the first to testify about the fact that No Name was a fabricated genius was because of that.
“Maria or whatever wrote all the proofs for him.”
In the end, the first author turned out to be a pseudonym.
There was a valid reason why mathematics was always chosen as a topic when creating “fake geniuses,” instead of magic studies. The industry itself was much smaller than magic studies, resulting in an absolutely limited number of people who understood the latest trends in mathematics, which meant there was a severe lack of individuals to review proofs even globally.
Thus, it was only natural that submitting proofs spanning dozens of pages would take an exceptionally long time for verification.
Since they would suck up popularity and go into hiding once the lies were revealed, it truly was a classic method employed twenty years ago.
So why did Professor Cheon accept such a request?
“I don’t know either.”
Professor Cheon graduated from Korea University and immediately moved to the United States, completing a typical elite course of study. Since there was no field as unprofitable as theoretical materials engineering, Professor Cheon would probably end up transforming into a polyprofessor (political professor), or so he cautiously speculated.
He didn’t know much about the child’s parents, but it was certain they held considerable influence in political circles. Otherwise, there would be no reason to take such a gamble.
Beep-beep!
As autonomous driving technology advances daily, he honked his horn in frustration at a government that made no effort to solve the rush hour traffic on his way home.
[172 – Twish TV]
“This guy should at least have changed the channel properly if he took the car.”
Professor Baek’s commute always featured channel 132, the golf channel.
His hand hesitated for a moment, trying to change the channel due to the emergence of a game commentary broadcast.
[No Name’s team advances to the finals with a perfect record in the group stage! Congratulations to The Blori team! Wow!]
He had caught wind of the news that No Name had participated in some gaming tournament during a recent press conference.
Beside the interviewer holding the microphone stood a seven-year-old child and a girl wearing an animal hoodie, both nervously waiting on stage.
Professor Baek continued to watch Twish’s broadcast.
Mixing in some difficult gaming terminology, there were more words he, about to turn fifty, didn’t understand.
And then came the final interview question.
[No Name, along with player Kariri, is the only minor streamer in the tournament! I bet your parents must be really proud, watching this broadcast! If you have any words you’d like to pass on to them, please share!]
The interviewer handed over the microphone.
Kariri was instructed to receive the microphone from the mid-position.
The girl’s eyes and hands trembled.
In contrast, the child on camera held the microphone firmly with both hands and gazed straight ahead.
[Um… Uh… Suddenly speaking, my mind went blank. Still, I think I played a bit better yesterday and today, but I’m not sure how Mom feels about it. I’ll keep living cool and bravely… so please watch over me till the end. I really miss Mom today. I love you.]
[Wow, No Name’s direct confession! Just hearing it makes my heart swell! I’m sure your mom will be happy too! But it seems like you’re living apart from her?]
[She’s in heaven.]
[Huh…?]
“What?”
Beep-beep!
Professor Baek’s surprised exclamation was drowned out by the blaring horn.
[And since my father is absent, I’ll skip that part.]
The interviewer, now receiving the microphone, felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.
The team of Na Me achieved a perfect record in the full league conducted over two days, securing a spot in the finals.
– I believed in you, Kariri!
– You’re our hero!
– The level of Wolmot Leaf Village is hilarious!
– Haha, the shift in tone is so funny!
Opinions emerged that Na Me’s performance didn’t shine as much compared to previous achievements despite the progress made in scrims and the undefeated run in the league, but this was soon overshadowed by Na Me’s interview.
[Woloa isn’t a game where everyone can be the main character. We made Kariri the lead in The Blori team.]
[The results vary vastly depending on who resources are pooled to. It might not make much difference to me individually, but focusing on Kariri will help us win objectives.]
[Are you disappointed about character selection? No, I don’t think it’s unfair. The tank assassin Kariri, which some say is OP, is a product of our entire team’s effort and I hope everyone acknowledges that.]
[Not everyone can be the main character in a single story, but I believe there’s a story out there where each person is the protagonist. For everyone wanting to see my performance, I’ll be the main character in the upcoming fall battle, so I hope you all tune in to Legacy of Legends as well. This is my first interview, and I feel like I rambled a bit, so thank you to everyone supporting me.]
– Wow
– Wow wow wow wow wow
– Very articulate!!!
– There’s a story where each person can be the protagonist is such a profound saying!
– No Name seems to have a bit of a quote sickness, haha!
– It’s far better than the cool kids who brush everything off as cringy, though.
– So cute, haha!
– The one truly rambling was Kariri.
– As soon as the camera is ON, they just give up on English translation—it’s just hilarious!
The unique character of the two girls elicited a strong response from the audience.
Consequently, the overzealous interviewer ended up asking a question not included in the original list.
Requesting a video message for their parents usually captured players feeling shy on screen.
This way, the warm atmosphere could be concluded, while also shifting the perception of gaming among middle-aged people—truly a threefold benefit.
– I want No Name’s parents too!!!
– Should we make them study or let them game?
└ For real, that’s a happy dilemma, haha!
– I’m curious who they are!
[It seems you’re living apart from your mother?]
But she shouldn’t have said that.
[She’s in heaven.]
The chat exploded.
No, it felt like everyone was exploding at that moment.
The fast-moving chat suddenly came to a standstill.
– Huh?
– Did I hear that wrong?
– Heaven…? Heaven…?
– You meant SKY, right?
– ?????????
– Bi… Bibi… Bibib…
– Beeeeeeeeee!
– Hurry, Talula…! Talula is needed!
– This is a real emergency!!!!!!
– No parents? Both of them?
– What!
– I feel like this is serious;;
– ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
– Is this real…?
– What did No Name just say? I didn’t catch it.
– The interview girl is in trouble for real.
– Are they really an orphan? Just 14 years old?
– Tattoos, dropout, hikikomori… Oh… So that’s it…
– ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ This buildup…
The broadcast crashed right after that.
“You’re too old to be hurt by that sort of thing now. Besides, you didn’t know. It’s really okay, so you can stop apologizing.”
I helped lift the somber-faced anchor.
She opened her mouth to say something but ended up trembling her lips and crying again, exhausting me from comforting her instead.
Personally, I thought it wasn’t that special to be without parents.
It would have been nice if I had them; however, there were many who had to give up on their dreams rather than being held back by parental figures in their previous lives.
Especially after the war, it became common to see children growing up without parents on the streets, where blood relations became useless under life-threatening circumstances.
Receiving the sincere apology from the interview lady, witnessing the affectionate gazes of the Woloa team members, the atmosphere of the team felt rather heavy with the upcoming League of Legends tournament.
“Na Me…”
“No, big sister Sia, you don’t need to make such a fuss—”
“Na Me! Uweee, I’m so sad that you didn’t know it, huuh!”
Yusia suddenly picked me up. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have changed my avatar.
“What’s wrong? The tournament is about to start. If you can’t keep an eye on the mini-map, how will you avoid ganks?”
“You… you…”
“What…?”
“Uaaaaaaang!”
“Don’t just cry, speak, speak!”
“I’m… huuuuh, I’ll! I’ll become your Na Me’s mom…!”
“What are you talking about! I’m getting adopted and living well! And my stepfather is way older than me!”
Sudden silence fell.
“Ugh… that’s a bit.”
“Right. Let’s just prepare for bans and picks.”
“Okay…”
Everyone really is overreacting.
