Former Hero Streamer – Chapter 90

Sure! Here’s the translation:

—

People must bump into each other and play together to get closer.

It’s not just about physical bumping, but if you spend time together playing various things, you’ll start to see some shapes forming.

What’s the best means for that play?

The answer comes right away. It’s to play a game!

“Shall we go to a multiplayer room?”

“Multiplayer room?”

“Yeah, these days multiplayer rooms are great. Even if VR is too much, you can do just about anything.”

Maybe having already attracted attention while strolling around the shopping mall…

Honestly, we needed a place where we could quietly have fun together.

Well, having a lot of things to enjoy is just an added bonus.

“Um….”

At that moment, Ajin cautiously raised her hand and said.

“I-I haven’t been to a multiplayer room… I’ve only heard stories… um, is it….”

Though her hesitance was typical, right now she looked particularly flustered.

As our eyes gathered, she lowered her head and whispered in a voice barely audible.

“Uh, isn’t it a place for lewd things?”

[“Ah, she’s such a noob…”]

A sincere sigh of regret buzzed in my mind.

Yeah, that statement seemed pretty problematic, so I couldn’t help but nod.

“PC rooms or karaoke rooms, it’s the people who misuse them. Rather, there’s plenty of fun stuff to do. Want to go?”

“Um, if you’re okay with it….”

Well, one person cleared that up.

Shifting my gaze to Dayoung and Eonha, both of them nodded.

Just then, I searched and found a decent multiplayer room nearby.

“Welcome, how many….”

When the employee at the counter turned their gaze toward us, their lethargic welcome was cut short.

Well, I had gotten used to it by now.

“Four of us. Is there a fully equipped room?”

“Oh, if you go to room 10… you can get whatever you need in the room….”

The explanation felt slightly excessive, so I quickly left with a short reply.

At that moment, Dayoung’s lips whispered close to my ear. What? It tickled.

“… Thank goodness for the sunglasses.”

Nodding, I agreed with Dayoung’s sentiment.

They were sunglasses I bought just in case… these days, they’ve been worth the price.

Even though my face was already well-known enough for shopping malls, what can you do?

The gap between a passerby and someone you’re directly talking to is large, so I started wearing them even before coming here.

That employee was probably still giving me those excessive stares at the back of my head.

If they saw my naked face, who knows what kind of fuss would happen?

Maybe right now, someone in some community is posting about their experience.

“I also prepare a hat and colored glasses when I go out. You haven’t done a face reveal yet, right? You should prepare in advance for when you do.”

Eonha, who had been listening next to us, chimed in.

Eonha is particularly famous, so she says there are plenty of people who recognize her if she goes out without makeup.

For someone who isn’t even a celebrity, being recognized this much might mean that a top female professional gamer is rare.

Anyway, to avoid such annoyances, she always wears a hat,


which makes that cap she’s wearing a clever choice.

If it turned out Eonha was a lotus flower, of course, Dayoung and even I might end up being found out as Friede too.

If a blonde woman linked to lotuses shows up, it’s already been formalized in the community that it reminds everyone of Friede.

“Oh, it’s spacious.”

Ajin’s admiration as we entered the room captured the first impression.

I also glanced around and agreed. I was slightly surprised it wasn’t too expensive; it’s quite nice.

Honestly, I felt pretty excited.

A place like a hangout full of things to enjoy, isn’t that a dream?

“Sis, what do you want to do first? Game? Karaoke?”

At Eonha’s question, I smiled softly as we looked around.

*

*

*

“Hey, 11 o’clock, 11 o’clock tank!”

“Can’t support right now. Heading to five.”

“Ugh, let’s hold the center somehow.”

“Understood.”

The frantic movement of the mouse and the rapid tapping of the keyboard filled the room rhythmically.

Watching the two stick close to the monitor as if their faces were about to be sucked in, constantly giving each other orders, it felt refreshingly entertaining.

“Those two… fit surprisingly well together.”

“Yeah. Their chemistry is pretty good, right?”

“Uh, I’m not sure if they fit well but they don’t seem bad, at least?”

Both Dayoung and Eonha are competitive cases.

Even now, with narrowed eyes, they’re struggling in the game with a fierce effort.

Once they get a feeling for things, they forget their previous emotions and rush full-speed towards a single goal.

With one hand tightly gripping my arm, Ajin’s cushions while sipping a drink were probably catching on to this very point.

If someone asked why the two were playing while Ajin and I just sat back watching… well, the answer is simple.

“Ugh, 2:2 is tough.”

“Quit complaining and just focus on blocking!”

“And you, can’t you end the enemy at 3 o’clock faster?”

The level of concentration was almost desperate, with complaints about blaming others and the inadequate number of players.

Ajin and I had retired in the middle and were struggling amidst the 2:2 standoff.

The reason they’re playing so hard comes down to one thing.

“Why are the hero units constantly pouring out?!”

“Even with resources, we’re falling behind. This is a mess, for real.”

As it turned out, it was a cheat map.

Specifically, limited to the enemy team’s position.

*

*

*

“I know how to play this game. It was the game my senior from the team peaked at. I received training from that person before too.”

“I’ve seen you stream a few times, so I can sort of get by.”

“W-what? Am I the only rookie here?”

It was surprising that everyone except Ajin had some experience.

While the initial glances were peculiar, they nodded in agreement.

Stellar Craft.

It’s funny to come to a multiplayer room just to play Stellar Craft, but a light warm-up seems okay.

After all, games that cross the boundaries of classics and the latest where teams coordinate are best for enjoyment.

I considered Legendary Battles, but even before this world’s summoning, it was a mainstream game I found hard to define as classic.

Naturally, my gaze shifted to this game.

Since it’s team play, having one rookie wouldn’t matter, so I was in the middle of searching for a proper public game.

Originally, I thought to queue for matching, but recalling the rotten fossils calling rookies, I entered a public game instead.

[4:4 Hellfire Hunters, only heroes brave enough to defeat demons…]

That’s a pretty provocative title.

Just mentioning ‘demon’ and ‘hero’ makes it something I couldn’t pass up as a genuine hero.

“Shall we do this room?”

“Hunters, sounds good. After all, it’s a 4-person duo.”

“But isn’t the map a bit weird?”

“Well, it’s an old game, maybe they just changed the skins?”

Originally, the Hunter map divided by greenery and water.

However, the map I’m seeing now conjures up an image of a red lava field reminiscent of hell.

But I thought it was the same form as the previous Hunter map and thought there wouldn’t be any issues, completely blindsided as to what I was thinking.

Realizing that a game released over 30 years ago could create such outlandish situations came far too late.

*

*

*

“Ah, it’s over. Sis.”

“Huh? Already?”

I had momentarily drifted off, and by now, Dayoung and Eonha had seized victory with their final assault.

[Lotus: Where do old men… go? Fingers?]

[Forming: Using cheat maps, gg lol]

[Ashtray: I lost because I was out eating pizza]

[Analyzer: They’re really trying their hardest… what total hoot idiots.]

[iiiiiiiiii: f**k, my base got NTRd]

[jukbbang: Preparing stage 2 map. Step in.]

[Forming: Using cheat maps then crying. It’s not even fun. Get lost, idiots ^^ㅗ]

[Lotus: Yeah, play without me. I’m not doing it.]

The shamelessness of the enemy team talking like that after using cheat maps was infuriating, but well, winning is what matters, right?

Finally, the victory scoreboard hung prominently in front of us,

“Whoa!”

“Phew!”

Everyone, regardless, leaned back in their chairs, letting out a sigh together.

“As long as their resources are infinite, that’s all that matters, but what am I supposed to do if our side’s resources disappear during the game? And why did they include strange magical effects in the map? It’s blinding.”

“Whoever thought of setting up neutral animals as a zoo, making it impossible to build is something I’d love to see their face.”

“It was pretty funny when Eonha crashed into them with an unmarked path early on.”

“The hero units pushed even Sehee unceremoniously. Luckily, we managed to take out half of them; if not, we would’ve been overrun.”

“Right?”

“Exactly.”

To be truthful, in terms of value for time, this match felt pretty off.

It ate up quite a bit of time and especially drained mental energy significantly.

“Still….”

“Isn’t it enough since we won?”

When you lose, it’s all about blaming others, but when you win, nothing feels better than that.

While they exchanged pleasantries and their gazes met, we couldn’t help but chuckle.

*

*

*

Exiting the multiplayer room, the city lights shimmered like mirages.

Having played frantically, it was already 9 PM; we even ordered dinner while in the multiplayer room.

We sang songs, rolled board games, and touched on just about everything.

With all this, I could confidently say we had a fulfilling time.

Eonha had to part ways to return to her place.

Well, ultimately, everyone has their own houses to go back to, so we had to separate.

However, before parting, Dayoung’s actions were quite memorable.

“Oh, over there.”

“Yes?”

Before leaving, Eonha turned her head at Dayoung calling her out.

Seeing Eonha trying to leave with a neutral goodbye while Dayoung scratched her cheek and hesitated, she spoke in a slightly timid voice.

“Um, I’m sorry. I came off too sharp at first. I apologize.”

At Dayoung’s words, Eonha blinked a couple of times with wide eyes before she said with a soft laugh.

“No problem. I’m in the same boat, so I apologize too.”

“Uh, win again next season. I’ll be cheering for you.”

“Yes, let’s all stream together sometime. Ajin was fun too.”

“Oh, if you need editing, send me an email.”

While scratching Ajin’s head, who was working until this moment, I bid farewell to Eonha.

“Thank you. I had a great time.”

“If you’re that grateful, quickly boost your rank so you can duo with me.”

“I guess I need to. Since preseason is coming soon, maybe I can try for rank 1 before that?”

“Chan-hyuk better watch out. I’ll have to too. Then, I’ll be waiting.”

After saying our goodbyes, we headed our separate ways, leaving Eonha behind.

On the way, I took Ajin to her place and was walking down the alley with Dayoung.

“I’m sorry to sis too.”

“Huh?”

“I made the mood awkward by sulking.”

“True. What’s got into you, Dayoung, acting all clingy back there?”

As I patted her head, Dayoung shrank away, exclaiming.

“Clingy?! What do you mean?!”

Even though her face looked fine, her ears were so red, it was incredibly cute.

Giving no word as I continued patting her head,

“You know….”

“I thought I wouldn’t mind what you did after meeting with sis, but then….”

“And then?”

Stealing a glance at me, in a voice barely above a whisper, Dayoung confessed.

“When I saw Eonha dancing after the competition… I felt a twinge of jealousy.”

—