It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

Chapter 71 – There’s No Such Thing as Karma

6PM.

For some lucky office workers, this was time to go home. For some broadcasters, it was time to wake up. But for law firm lawyers, it was time to hurriedly eat dinner before the inevitable overtime work.

Ever since getting an earful from her younger sibling, Lee Yeri had been making an effort to never skip her meals. Just as she checked the time and was about to leave her room, she paused for a moment.

‘I haven’t been looking out for the juniors lately. Should I at least offer to buy them dinner?’

If it were up to her, she’d prefer spending money over sharing a meal with a senior. But, it seemed today’s juniors didn’t think that way.

Particularly, the junior in the office next door… until recently, they’d frequently knocked on her office door asking if she’d like to have a meal.

The junior’s office door was open just then, making it hard to ignore and walk past.

-Knock, knock.

Just as she sighed with relief, thinking the junior was absorbed in their monitor without noticing her, the junior jumped up from their seat.

“Oh! Attorney Lee! Hello!”

The junior stood up quickly, pulling out an earphone from their ear, greeting her brightly.

Not feeling like the junior was currently working, Lee Yeri suppressed the inner grumpiness muttering, ‘They seem to be in a pretty good mood.’ She smiled back.

“Yes, hello. Attorney Yoo, if you’re free, how about grabbing a meal together? You helped me with buying a computer last time; I’ll treat you to something nice.”

“Oh, you treated me to something nice last time too! But… um… hold on a moment.”

The junior seemed hesitant, their eyes darting back and forth between Lee Yeri and the computer screen.

Suppressing a slight sense of frustration, she approached and saw a familiar game screen on the monitor.

“…Attorney Yoo, you know that the IT team can check what programs you install, right?”

“No, no! I’m not playing the game; it’s a broadcast. My favorite broadcaster is trying to become a challenger… I mean, a ranker? If she wins one more game, she’ll be the first female ranker. Her playstyle is wild, but her voice is beautiful… It’s amazing. Would you like to listen for a bit?”

Her junior, eyes sparkling, eagerly held out an earphone, explaining so swiftly it was a wonder when she had time to breathe. Lee Yeri concentrated on maintaining a gentle smile, slowly shaking her head in refusal.

“No, thank you. I’m not familiar with games.”

“This is the game that your sister plays! She might be watching this broadcaster too. Nowadays, everyone around me who plays KoK knows this broadcaster; it’s like everyone admires her. She’s like the hope of female users.”

Following her junior’s pointing finger to the screen, Lee Yeri’s eyebrows knitted slightly as she asked,

“Is this ‘GetDevoured’?”

“Yes, but don’t get the wrong idea! There’s a story behind her ID. This broadcaster originally…”

As her junior’s enthusiastic explanation went on, Lee Yeri struggled to resist the urge to shake her head in exasperation.

‘GetDevoured, really?’

‘To think that a game allows such a vulgar, explicit ID name… I truly didn’t know.’

She worried about the negative influence on her sister. Though legally an adult now, 21 still felt incredibly young and vulnerable to her.

Exaggerating a bit, she even regretted buying her sister a computer.

“-So, I’m really, really sorry, but I think I’ll have to postpone dinner tonight. Would tomorrow work for you, attorney?”

Her junior’s belated words came through, delivered with a face that looked like a drenched kitten.

“…… Yes, that’s right. Let’s have a meal tomorrow.”

Leaving behind her slightly uneasy feelings, Lee Yeri bade farewell and left the office.

‘What was that…… What did she mean by that.’

She thought it was fine to play games, but she wondered if she needed to tell him to stop watching so many internet broadcasts. Respecting her younger sibling as an adult was important, but her concerns were far from over.

* * * *

A burning land, with blood flowing.

The warrior standing on it held a massive axe, lightly trembling with rage and humiliation. It was fortunate that the helmet covered his gritted teeth. Countless lives had fallen and would continue to fall on the battlefield, but how one died seemed irrelevant—

Yet, he did not want to die like this. He did not want to be defeated like this.

“Can we get support?”

The question he asked out of desperation received no answer. The priest who was supposed to respond, the mage who was supposed to protect him—they had long since fled, unable to hold their ground.

Gritting his teeth, he tightened his grip on his axe. It had been a series of cowardly tricks.

From beginning to end, consistently. One couldn’t expect chivalry from a non-knight, nor warrior’s honor from a non-warrior. That much, he understood. But still, wasn’t there supposed to be some sense of duty?

“Come out, you bastard!”

The warrior’s shout, expelled from lungs filled to the brim, echoed through the battlefield—

But it did not reach the ears of the rogue, who focused solely on the target while gripping a dagger.

—Thud!

Upon hearing the sound of arrows being loosed from behind, the warrior instinctively widened his eyes and scanned the front. The allied archer must have seen something.

Wherever that arrow landed, that guy would surely be.

One last chance.

Even if he were to face defeat, he wished for just one opportunity to lodge this cursed axe into that detestable man’s head. As the warrior, consumed by that single thought, listened, a dreadfully monotonous voice reached his ears.

“Found you.”

And simultaneously, the axe he swung at something glinting in the light sliced through empty air.

It was too late.

A fleeting moment, but still too late. And the price for this tardiness was witnessing another comrade’s death.

“You filthy rogue bastard!”

The enraged warrior’s cry, once again, did not reach the rogue.

The rogue’s eyes were solely focused on the target that lay beyond.

Originally, a rogue who fell onto the battlefield was this kind of existence. Neither gazing at others’ honor nor their own shame, because they couldn’t see it, they didn’t look.

However, from the perspective of the allies standing on the side where that blade did not point, there was no more reliable comrade than that. The rogue’s hands firmly and clearly grasped the path to victory.

* * * *

『The warrior’s sensitivity is on point, really』

『Please just fight……』

『Stop hating on warriors』

『Stop hating on priests』

『Stop…the hate!』

『Delete the Blink Dagger already』

『Wow……they’re really, absurdly good』

『This game is based on luck』

『Going to play mage』

『Challenger! Challenger! Challenger! Challenger! Challenger! Challenger!』

《…… It’s over.》

The enemy’s fortress still stood solidly, and the flag on top was still fluttering. Nevertheless, no one dared to refute her words that the game was already over.

It was overwhelming and yet, intricate like a mechanical device. It was a perfect execution, like that of a machinist.

The strategy was very simple. The rogue would infiltrate enemy lines through an improbable route, causing chaos in the enemy’s rear. This distraction allowed allied mages and archers to freely bombard with spells and arrows.

It was simple to explain. Doing it without any support, however, was another matter entirely. By the time one regained their senses, the enemy’s priests and mages were already uttering sinister murmurs as they fell.

Once the positions were confirmed and the backline were eliminated, the moment the strategy of unilateral bombardment from the sky was implemented, its power was demonstrated repeatedly, even in reality.

Calling this dishonorable would be as outdated as charging at a machine gun post on horseback. At least, that was what Lee Yena thought.

Following the path she had pioneered, magic and arrows poured down endlessly, causing the enemies to lose their will to fight one by one.

And soon,

=Victory!=

The voice that thousands had been waiting for finally resounded.

– “Champion appppppppppppppears!!!!!!!!”

– “I believed in you, teacher!! I believed in you, teacher!! I believed in you, teacher!! I believed in you, teacher!! I believed in you, teacher!! I believed in you, teacher!!”

– “Pleaassee, killlll meeee”

– “You have been promoted to Challenger rank. Congratulations!”

Accompanied by a splendid animation of a sword tearing through the curtain, a brilliant mark emerged from the darkness.

In Korea, only 500 people.

Even the professionals active abroad could scarcely make their names known on this prestigious list. It was the moment the name “GetDevoured” (Lee Yena) was inscribed at the bottom of that respected list.

-ㅇㅇ has donated 10,000 won!-

【Ideal type? ‘Devoured’. Need more explanation?】

– King Devoured has donated 100,000 won!-

【King Devoured, God Devoured, emperor Devoured】

-ㅇㅇ has donated 10,000 won!-

【Challenger! Challenger! Challenger! Challenger!】

-ㅇㅇ has donated 10,000 won!-

【Challenger? Ah, it would take about 40 hours. I would also need to enjoy it while drinking.】

– ReformedGwangjil has donated 100,000 won!-

【Congratulations on reaching Challenger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best of the best! Rogue Rogue! Best of the best! Rogue Rogue! Best of the best! Devoured!】

Amidst the pouring donations and the festival kicking off, viewers cheered in anticipation of the promised after-party.

『…?』

『???』

『Devoured?』

『You reached Challenger』

『???』

– “Teacher?”

– “Challenger!”

“?????”

Lee Yena was quietly turning the queue again.

.

.

.

Two hours later.

Lee Yena finally reached 491st rank in the Challenger tier, “Heheh.”

Only then did she smile contentedly.

“Ah… It worked.”

“Pheew.”

The sigh, which sounded drained of energy, carried a pleasant sense of relief. It was a breath that only one who had achieved their goal through perseverance could feel. From the perspective of the viewers watching, they couldn’t understand why she had taken nine more steps—

“Thank you to everyone who watched.”

Nonetheless, for some reason, they felt a surge of overwhelming emotion along with her.

– “It’s a party!!”

– “Challenge cleared! Challenge cleared! Challenge cleared! Challenge cleared! Challenge cleared! Challenge cleared! Challenge cleared!”

– “After-party time~ After-party time~ After-party time~ After-party time~ After-party time~”

– “Bring out the drinks!!!!”

– “Barmaid! Close up shop!!”

It was time to listen to the story.

Such a remarkable talent, where had they suddenly appeared from? How did it feel to enter the challenger level? What was the next goal?

At the scheduled after-party, surely all those stories could be heard. At the moment when everyone, filled with anticipation, cheered in excitement—

“Well then, I’ll be off. See you next time. The next broadcast schedule will be announced.”

– “?????”

– “After-party?”

– “You said there’s an after-party.”

– “Excuse me?”

– “Hey.”

– “Hey, you sonofabitch.”

– “Hey, you.”

『After-Party』

『“CravingWarmAmericano” is now offline.』

The broadcaster had disappeared.

『Heyyyyyyyyyyyyy』

『Hey, you crazy girl』

『Ah』

* * * *

『Author: “CravingWarmAmericano” (👑)』

『Title: Challenger Climb & After-Party Review』

『Hello,

I want to thank everyone who watched the challenger climb.

It was more enjoyable than I expected.

The next event will probably be a tournament. Oh, and there might be a collab broadcast before that.

Here are some after-party pictures.

(Photo)

Didn’t it turn out well this time? It was crispy and delicious.』

On Lee Yena’s “Together with Ye” – the forum for the Rogue Revival Movement – the post included a notice.

Along with the notice, there was a picture showing a golden-brown crispy buchimgae (Korean pancake) on a now-familiar desk, with makgeolli (rice wine) poured into a rice bowl. And a hand making a peace sign.

The tattoo (allegedly on her arm) was visible from a different angle.