Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 14

On the other hand, the Soul Warfare community was buzzing with the emergence of new budding players.

As time passed, the opening of the SCK Spring League turned into a standardized narrative, and due to incidents involving some streamers, the community had long slipped into a rut.

For those community troublemakers, a golden opportunity had just dropped.

The topic was none other than the user known as Light Hero Friede, who had burst onto the scene like a comet with her unique concept and high win rate.

The attributes assigned to her were truly diverse.

Her high-quality knight cosplay was undoubtedly among the best seen in Soul Warfare so far.

Holding a Broken Greatsword, regarded as one of the worst weapons, she managed to maintain a win rate of over 90% at Master Rank.

And she was a female user who hadn’t fallen into the trap of overexposure.

Looking at each element individually, it seemed difficult for them to receive much attention.

But like piecing together a mosaic, when these elements came together, they created an unprecedented destructive power.

It all started during a stream of “Hero Forming,” where the streamer had fallen into a low tier.

The word of mouth that spread through her viewers gradually thickened the tale with testimonies from rival users she faced in-game.

[General] Status of Hero Forming and Friede Duo

“Since the Grand Master rank stream is live, I’m totally dizzy from watching.”

“Those jerk faces are ramping up the difficulty with some ridiculous hell missions.”

“I’ve never seen a Windmill kill me twice in a row like that, what the hell, haha!”

“I’m watching right now, what mission did they even pick?”

“I’ve seen enough to shout ‘Kiyoo!’ and get instant death kills from aerial beheadings, two consecutive Windmill kills, and 20 consecutive parrying kills.”

“Those idiots, just hearing about it makes me so dizzy.”

[General] Friede’s Bomb Announcement!

“Oh, so you’re not going to receive rewards after clearing the quest?”

“If you don’t want to, then quit being a hero, lol.”

“Seriously…”

“Whether you’re collecting poop or shouting ‘Kiyoo!’, you have to do the quest.”

“Where do you think you can quit being a hero? Not a chance! Argh! Aaaaargh!!!”

“Prince Lee is gay…”

“Hero Forming’s suffering continues…”

The Hero Forming and Friede’s stream aimed at entering Grand Master Rank was a notably ordinary setup, creating a habitual viewing atmosphere.

Normally, Friede’s stunning skills and Hero Forming’s decent skills would mesh well enough to secure a straightforward entry.

But perhaps due to a desire to avoid predictable developments, or maybe thinking the stream was boring…

Before starting, Friede made a unique proposal.

She asked her viewers to submit missions—quests—to raise the game’s difficulty even further.

As long as the content didn’t cross too far over the line, meaning if it was a level of quests manageable within the game, she declared she’d accept anything.

Thus began what was now called a mission stream.

Not wanting to miss this opportunity, some mischievous viewers revved up their brains to come up with missions to mess with Friede and Hero Forming.

The previously mentioned aerial beheading instant death kills, consecutive Windmill kills, and 20 consecutive parrying kills were part of this scheme.

In a fair-tier match, especially in the higher Master ranks, such missions weren’t easy to achieve.

The missions voted on by the audience were continuously rising in both quality and difficulty…

All spectators held onto the expectation that something would inevitably go wrong.

There was no way this mission would succeed.

After all, imposing constraints disguised as missions within a virtual reality action RPG would lead to immense penalties in gameplay.

This expectation applied to Hero Forming, who had previously shown satisfactory skills, and even Friede, who was showcasing legendary performances with her Broken Greatsword.

There was also a hint of malicious intent mixed in—a desire to see the esteemed fall.

But….

[General] Breaking News) Hero Forming and Friede Duo – This Mission is Legendary

Friede successfully gets a kill while moonwalking.

Hero Forming also succeeds without dying using the Broken Greatsword, just like Friede.

Hero Forming was brought to tears by the harsh mission…

“At this point, we should hear Hero Forming’s opinion.”

“I think the fact that they’ve come this far is pretty impressive.”

“If this keeps up, they’ll be told to carry with an iron.”

“Uh, that’s a bit much…”

“That’s already something Friede succeeded at three hours ago.”

“What the hell, seriously crazy.”

“Iron carry? That’s quite the rare sight… wow.”

[General] So what’s the next mission, idiots?

“Send a proper mission already!”

“Those two have already drawn four hundred from the mission, right?”

“Honestly, at this point, it makes sense to just give up.”

“At the point that they’ve succeeded in consecutive Windmill kills, it’s totally time to cut our losses, haha.”

“These fools are setting up the mission to get slaughtered, haha.”

“Yeah, Hero Forming is invincible; Beach Hero is a god.”

[General] Shocking Incident! Friede Fails Mission!

[Just a frog gif giving a thumbs up]


“There’s nothing like that, you losers!”

[Just a gif of a crying frog]


“You guys were hoping for the mission to fail, lol.”

“The shake-up you want from Friede is… haha!”

[Just a gif of a distressed frog]


“No matter what happens!!!!

Absolutely!!!!

[Just a gif of a frog losing its soul]


You will NOT see it, losers!!!!!!”

[Just a gif of a frog flipping the bird with a frustrated face]


Hahahahahahahaha!

“F*ck, you guys.”

“That’s a huge bait, seriously.”

“At this point, it feels like a scam.”

“The gains were for Friede and Hero Forming, and the idiots who lost out were you guys, lol.”

“Mission achievement prize: 77 million.”

Filled with a kind of joy close to malice and rebellion, the reactions began to divide slowly as each quest named ‘trial’ was achieved.

The few troublemakers were biting down hard and throwing out ugly missions.

The majority of spectators drew pleasure from the thrill of completing absurd missions, trials, quests.

The regulars in the community, focused on Hero Forming’s stream, began paying attention to different elements of Friede’s play.

It wasn’t just about her superficial record boasting high win rates with the Broken Greatsword.

It was about the gameplay itself.

[General] “Damn, Friede’s gameplay looks dizzying”

“I almost puked watching the in-game play video.”

[High-quality motion gif]


“I saw this live, and my eyes are spinning.”

“It feels like something swooshing by as she’s tossing whales around here and there.”

“The funniest part is how she plays without any slip-ups at all.”

“Haha!”

“Seriously, Friede’s sensitivity is strangely fast.”

“So, this is what the reflexes of a protagonist from an offline sword art looks like?”

“Right?! Haha!”

“Her reactions are insane… Are her physical skills that strong? Even watching the Warden’s stream, it’s not even close.”

“There were a few from before, right? I mean, she’s clearly insane…”

Friede’s in-game play was filmed from her point of view.

These players had seen so many videos from the user’s perspective in virtual reality in Soul Warfare, they were numb to it by now.

Even so, her movements were so rapid, they drew attention to themselves enough for them to complain of dizziness.

As if their eyes were glued in every direction, she swiftly caught even the tiniest changes, responding to them.

With skills and reflexes like these, everything her opponents tried was easily read, leading to a repetitive beat-down as they fell victim to the montage.

At this point, it seemed that Friede’s skills transcended simple high ranks and reached a level rarely seen, even in pro scenes.

Naturally, everyone grew curious about her identity.

A former female professional gamer.

A simple challenger veteran.

Or perhaps a newly emerged overpowered newbie.

And, suddenly, in stark contrast to the previously glowing compliments…

[General] “Friede is definitely using hacks.”

A post targeting Friede went up.

And the Soul Warfare community would soon shift its tide from this post starting a new chapter.

* * *

The effects of hacks used in virtual reality are similar to speed hacks. Or rather, they are practically identical.

To be precise, they are a type that accelerates the user’s perceived speed within virtual reality compared to others.

Particularly, it spreads even more discreetly and widely than hacks used in traditional PC games, and that is because…

“It’s all about the overwhelming sensation of omnipotence.”

Park Soo-ho smirked, taking a drag from his cigarette.

In a space where all sensations are realized like virtual reality, the movements of all users and objects, except himself, feel extremely slowed down.

Arrows flying in, weapons rushing in, and even the users themselves.

For just a moment when speed hacks are in use, it creates an exhilarating feeling where only the user exists in that game and can manipulate everything.

Having used it himself before, Park Soo-ho was confident that Friede was a user operating a hack program.

And he gazed at his YouTube channel stats with a pleased smile.

[General] “Friede is definitely using hacks.”

“No matter how physical the game is, the reaction speed doesn’t add up.”

“She rose through the high rank thanks to her winning streak, and GM’s must be watching, so I bet she’s getting banned soon.”

“Get your farewells ready, you jerks. Tsk, tsk.”

**Recommended:** 82,569 / **Not Recommended:** 3,897

“Got any evidence?”

“I saw a video of someone analyzing it (link) take a look.”

“Considering the content, it does seem legit.”

“Honestly, I feel it too;;”

“After watching that video I truly feel it’s definitely shady.”

“Seriously, it’s just wrong to see someone exhibit that level of reaction.”

“So what about Hero Forming?”

A post that lit the fire within the Soul Warfare community.

The link inside it connected to Park Soo-ho’s YouTube channel.

Specifically, a video just uploaded recently.

Title: “It’s not just the Light Hero; it’s a Hack Hero.”

In just a day, it had gained 414,289 views.

You could really feel the immense popularity and interest surrounding the user named Friede.

However, receiving popularity and attention is like a spark in a dry woodpile.

If managed well, it can warm up a winter without drama.

But with just a misstep, it could burn down not only the house but the entire mountain.

Just like now!

[General] “If Friede’s a hack user, then Hero Forming isn’t getting off easy either.”

“Currently, riding the wave thanks to Friede, lol.”

“F*ck, if you just brought in a hack user as a guest, what gives?”

“Is Hero Forming really that clueless despite being a Master Rank?”

“Sure seems like it…”

“For real, at this point, if you can’t tell, there’s something wrong.”

“Let’s be honest; can anyone replicate that reaction even if the Warden’s here? That’s true for the entirety of the game too?”

“If you wanna hate on someone, hate on Friede. Why drag Hero Forming into this?”

“F*ck, Team Hero Forming, huh.”

As the interest towards Friede turned into malice, the repercussions spread to Hero Forming.

It felt like pouring an entire can of paint onto a blank canvas.

Well, it wouldn’t be a lie to say it was pitiful…

“Playing with a hack user leads to this kind of outcome.”

Now, the spark has been thrown in.

Shall we enjoy the fireplay?