Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 65

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“What, what is that?”

What is this nonsense I’m hearing?

The marketing team’s leader raised an incredulous question, and the manager of Lotus—Chaeunha also wore a troubled expression.

However, as a manager, there was a clear duty to convey the player’s stance and requests to the club. So, gathering my resolve, I spoke clearly once more.

“Lotus—Chaeunha is preparing for this brawl tournament just as seriously as any regular season. She is putting in a lot of effort.”

“And what does that have to do with the request being made… Has Lotus really made such a request?”

“Yes, it may be hard to believe, but it’s true.”

“No, saying something like that at this point…”

With the marketing team’s leader lamenting, the atmosphere in the meeting room turned chilly.

The request delivered through the manager from Lotus was quite simple.

To permanently ban certain weapon types in this brawl tournament so that participants couldn’t choose them.

Originally, Soul Warfare opens up all weapons during the game pick/ban phase, even including regular seasons, as long as there are no bugs or errors that cause critical issues for game progress.

Even if it’s a powerful OP weapon, or a completely useless trash weapon.

Lotus’s request to change the tournament regulations, violating the unspoken rules of Soul Warfare, was a tough matter for the marketing team leader to brush aside.

If they weren’t careful, they could be criticized by fans for arbitrarily changing tournament rules.

Noise marketing isn’t handled this way, and all team members present hesitated to support the request.

Even if it was made by Lotus, the star player of the team following Warden.

While everyone was busy keeping their heads down and avoiding the boss’s gaze, Lotus’s manager calmly continued to explain the situation.

“Lotus wants every participant in this tournament to give it their all. She wants an excellent performance user to win and compete against her.”

“It’ll be difficult to find a user among those participating in the tournament who isn’t giving it their all. You know that, right?”

The total prize pool for this tournament is 100 million won, with the winner’s prize being 60 million won.

Being the world’s top e-sports prestigious club, the weight of the name is that heavy, resulting in continued investment.

For this reason, even if it happens only once a year, they have climbed to an exceedingly high position.

Just the prize alone is immense, and the winner can get broadcasting boosts through a partnership with the streaming service operated by STK.

Moreover, depending on the situation, they can immediately call up to the main team as a candidate or main starter.

Of course, it’s not guaranteed, and it’s determined through agreements with pro players from the club that the winner faced and the strategy analysis team.

In any case, it’s rare to find a tournament with this much merit compared to ordinary amateur tournaments.

“Of course, I agree. However, Lotus identified just one specific participant and mentioned her.”

“Who is that?”

At the team leader’s question, the manager adjusted their glasses and spoke.

“Friede.”

“……!”

At that moment, the team leader’s mouth snapped shut like a clam, and the manager seized on this opportunity.

“I know the tradition of unleashing all weapons in Soul Warfare. It’s about pursuing freedom, and the developers want to respect the choice of whatever weapon is used. But…”

From this point, they would have to manipulate Lotus’s stance as much as possible to target the team leader in front of them.

“As you know, there are some weapons with extremely low pick rates. For example, the one used by the Friede user…”

“The Broken Greatsword….”

“Exactly. Those are the types of weapons.”

The team leader let out an ambiguous sound that could be a groan or a mumble.

The Broken Greatsword, the Wooden Club, the Branding Iron.

They were known as the “three hopeless brothers” of Soul Warfare’s weapon category.

When matched against users of similar skill levels, if one side picks any of the three hopeless weapons, the rumors circulated that the outcome would always end in a draw.

How pathetic must these weapons be if they were ridiculed for being worse than daggers?

With dismal catalog specs and lacking any advantages compared to even the same weapon category, they were mockingly referred to as data debris.

Among them, the Branding Iron and the Broken Greatsword had refreshing weapon concepts, so there were users who criticized the lack of buffs, but ultimately, it was all for naught.

“This tournament is going to feature a fierce showdown among the best of the best. Participating with a Broken Greatsword would be disrespectful to the opponents.”

“…….”

“Moreover, even if such a weapon were to win, while Friede’s skill could be acknowledged, it could also lower the quality of the participants and possibly the entire tournament. If something unfortunate were to happen during a duel between her and Lotus while such a weapon is involved….”

“Is Lotus worried about losing to a Friede user?”

“No. Lotus is not considering losing; she is only focused on victory. This is just my personal opinion. Protecting the players in case of emergencies is only natural.”

A professional player losing to an amateur master using the Broken Greatsword…

It definitely isn’t an easy issue to wrap one’s head around.

While it’s true that STK is the most popular club, it also means, conversely, that it has the most anti-fans.

There’s no reason to expose the club’s ace player to such prime fodder for those anti-fans to latch onto.

Especially as it’s not an amateur tournament.

If things went wrong and the player’s mentality broke down, it could lead to a drain of power next season.

As a professional, it must be handled with more caution. The manager’s argument seemed reasonable upon reflection.

It could indeed be considered rational.

“And Lotus also mentioned this.”

“Yes?”

What more nonsense could there be?

The manager smiled gently, noticing the team leader’s anxious demeanor.

“She said, ‘Doesn’t everyone want to see Friede’s true skill, fighting with wonderful weapons?'”

Ah, everyone was left speechless, their mouths agape in quiet awe.

Indeed… currently, the community’s mainstream sentiment in Soul Warfare seemed to revolve around Friede.

Moreover, with Lotus chosen as the final boss of this tournament.

Of course, there’s a chance Friede might be eliminated early, but…

It was the showdown between the supreme female master, Friede, and the professional female champion, Lotus.

A storyline that was undoubtedly exciting, allowing everyone to stretch their imaginations.

The manager wrapped up their points.

In the brief, ensuing silence, all that remained was the decision of the responsible party.

“I understand the manager’s statements and the player’s stance. But….”

The team leader took a trembling sigh and gathered their thoughts.

“Even so, we cannot carry out the ban of specific weapons. The reason, as explained earlier….”

“What if a Friede user wins with a Broken Greatsword? And then faces off against Lotus?”

Breaking off the sentence and charging in quickly, the manager spoke, and the team leader answered calmly.

“Whether she wins or loses… no good story will emerge from that.”

If Lotus wins, it would be said she won with a Broken Greatsword; if she loses, she’d be ridiculed for losing to a Broken Greatsword.

For the player, it’s an incredibly unjust predicament, a true dilemma. Naturally, they’d be furious.

But then again, if they proceeded with a specific weapon ban, that could be an issue that undermines the club’s integrity.

If they were to make a targeted ban out of fear of an amateur’s performance, the fans wouldn’t be dumb enough not to notice.

Even if it’s an event tournament… there was no reason to tarnish the image of the organizing club.

“Even so, there’s no guarantee the Friede user will win. Up until now, Friede has faced challengers that are only at the lower tiers overlapping with Grand Masters. We cannot make a decision on a mere assumption, solely based on a player’s request.”

“Then, Lotus could instead….”

“If we carry out such a targeted ban, they would certainly make a case for Lotus’s justification for an adequate loss, arguing that the club changed the rules for fairness. No matter what we do, they’ll latch on to it. That’s exactly how it is, in the realm of the internet.”

That was indeed a precise statement.

“If it’s that concerning, then Lotus could just use a Broken Greatsword. If they were to battle with the same weapon, no one would be able to latch onto it that much.”

“In fact, that thought did cross my mind, but Lotus thought as a pro, she should do her utmost for victory and rejected the idea.”

With the manager’s forehead pressed in disappointment, the team leader shook their head.

Lotus’s strong sense of pride becomes poison in moments like this.

‘Her strong ego was always worrying, and sure enough, it’s a hindrance now.’

If Warden had the mindset to devote himself to the club as a pro, he would have chosen to go in with a Broken Greatsword.

Last year, Warden had already participated, and they couldn’t exhaust the same player repeatedly. Plus, aiming to bolster promotions with a female player was in mind, but…

‘I never expected it would turn into this blunder….’

It’s not that Lotus’s thoughts are wrong, but her tendency to tire those around her was evident enough to elicit a sigh from the team leader.

Just what to do.

Even though they said that, it was apparent to the team leader that Friede’s skills were overwhelming, making her one of the most likely participants to win.

If Friede were to actually face off against Lotus, the manager’s worries wouldn’t be unfounded.

As the team leader was racking their brain for a breakthrough, they wiped the sweat from their increasingly shiny forehead and said quietly.

“Let’s limit the number of uses.”

“Yes?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, really?”

“It’s difficult to ban specific weapons, but we can impose a limit on the number of times any weapon can be used in the tournament. This tournament includes promotion for the club but also has ‘discovering talented players’ as part of it.”

“Ah!”

As everyone’s eyes turned to the team leader, he poured out his ideas without hesitation, filled with an unusual passion.

The officer who had been listening beside them clapped their hands in agreement.

“It sounds good. Putting a limit on the number of uses means diverse weapons will have to be used, which is ideal for promising players aiming for pro debuts. The reasoning isn’t even that bad.”

“That way, the potential for Friede to use a Broken Greatsword in front of Lotus will diminish.”

“Right, since it isn’t a permanent ban on specific weapons, it also dodges suspicions of targeting specific users.”

“And what if she decides not to use the Broken Greatsword until the finals?”

The manager’s concerns were met only with the team leader shaking his head.

This was the maximum string of compromises acceptable. The rest would depend on the players participating.

Friede had a pathological obsession with using the Broken Greatsword.

She might just use it to fill up the allowed number of uses early on.

“I understand. I’ll leave it to you.”

Knowing that the team leader had compromised to the best of his ability, the manager had no choice but to agree.

Next, all that was left was to persuade and coordinate with the player.

After the meeting ended, everyone gradually started to leave their seats.

The team leader sank into his chair, exhausted, releasing the tension from his body and mind.

Friede.

She could surely be said to be a user stirring up a strong wind.

The previous controversy surrounding hacks and the achievement of reaching Challenger rank with the Broken Greatsword.

Such unexpected behavior and allure are absolutely deadly, to say the least.

The team leader took out his smartphone and expanded an image from the gallery.

It was a knight holding a Broken Greatsword, clad in sacred white armor, draped in a flowing golden cape.

It was the appearance of Friede.

“Friede onee-chan… gomen ne.”

The Broken Greatsword is great and all, but… I want to see my onee-chan fighting splendidly with a cooler weapon.

Please understand.

“I love you ♥”

Beyond various realistic issues, this was a desire charged with gloomy ambitions that no one would ever imagine.

* * *

The end of the long journey was in sight.

As our team’s tank extinguished the last bonfire of the enemy, the victory message appeared alongside the MVP performance.

As the MVP chosen, I nestled my body against our team’s bonfire and ignited in a blaze like firewood, the flames illuminating the world and adding to its grandeur.

Somehow, observing my character from a third-person perspective during this cutscene felt strange, as if I had become two people.

Well, the more MVPs, the more chances I get unique rare profile themes, so that’s nice and all, but.

What really matters isn’t just the MVP.

—Shu whack!

Just like during the MVP cutscene, my profile burned like ash, and amidst the dazzling flames, I was reborn.

No longer merely decorated with metals befitting my tier, it transformed into a resplendent profile, flickering like fire.

The highest rank of Soul Warfare, the symbol of the celestial realm.

I, Friede!

Finally ascended to the Challenger tier!

[Friede! Friede! Friede! Friede!]

[Whoa, she really did it!]

[Congrats on the win, sis!!!]

[Masterful consecutive victories ㄷㄷㄷ]

[Friede is a goddess! The Broken Greatsword is invincible!]

[Seriously, there’s a user who reached Challenger while wielding the Broken Greatsword over 90% of the game from unranked?]

[And a female user… just a god!]

[Friede is… the Celestial Horse!]

[Friede the God, Queen Friede, King Friede!]

The chat box was overflowing with congratulatory messages. Though there were slightly embarrassing remarks, I was okay with it at this moment.

Even if it was a spam flood, it was something I could boldly overlook… or rather, it was the truth that I had no choice but to leave it be.

Currently, the chat box was flooding like the Nile’s overflowing waters.

Well, it’s no longer a concern now.

Achieving Challenger also made me feel proud, so let’s savor this feeling for a moment.

I was standing alone on the Soul Warfare lobby screen, passing the time.

How long had it been? About five minutes?

The commotion from the electronic girl’s voice pulled me back out of my reflective state.

「Donation of 10,000 won by Zeekgaterbelt!


—Onii-chan! It’s a big deal! Check the Soul Warfare Out Ben announcement right now!」

「Donation of 20,000 won by The Dominator!


—Our sis revived like crazy lol!」

「Donation of 25,000 won by Eating My Sis!


—Time to take off the sandbags, Sensei.」

“…?”

A big deal? Reviving like crazy? Sandbags?

I couldn’t comprehend their meaning at all, feeling a vague sense of battle code urgency.

In any case, I accessed the Soul Warfare Out Ben site as suggested by the donations.

At the very top of the screen, a large banner about major game news grabbed attention.

【Announcement! Changes in STK Brawl Tournament Regulations!】

Changes to the tournament regulations, huh? What does that have to do with me?

I clicked on it with indifference to examine the details.

Inside….

【In order to create more diverse variables in player gameplay for this STK brawl tournament, we are adding the following regulations.


Addendum: There will be a limit on the number of times weapons can be used in this tournament. (Maximum usage of the same weapon: 2 times).

This will be individually communicated to participating players, and we ask that all participating players take note of this.


Thank you.】

It was the outrageous decree of the organizers turning my main weapon into a 2-coin life.

What the heck, give my weapon back!

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