It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

There was a certain kind of inspiration to be found in watching a group of individuals come together, united with a single purpose, to achieve something.

When the goal they managed to accomplish initially seemed impossible, this inspiration was magnified even further.

This was the reason why Revan loved cliché-ridden B-grade sports movies, filled with obvious stories, predictable conflicts, and heartwarming triumphs.

A player who was terrible at dribbling but extraordinary at running, another one who had a terrible personality but possessed the skill to one-on-one the opposing ace (including a flashback scene explaining his background as a promising young talent who went astray due to an injury), and yet another who missed every shot but never failed to head the ball into the goal…

Watching such misfits constantly bicker amongst themselves, get crushed 5:0 or 6:0, and then eventually awaken, driven by the dedication and eloquent speeches of an unassuming but inherently good-natured coach (who secretly had a remarkable career and a tragic past), and their anger at the opposing team for underestimating ‘our team’… leading them to victory…

Such movies were so poignant that they made one easily disregard comments about how it wouldn’t make sense for such ‘single-skill’ players to win in modern soccer.

Revan undoubtedly enjoyed such movies immensely.

But…

‘It’s not that I wanted to be in one.’

“What items did you get?”

“I got a Rogue in this round who doesn’t open chests.”

“What on earth does that-”

“We said we’d try an experimental build. An unexpected strike. A one-hit kill. You liked it too, Revan.”

“No, that doesn’t mean you should one-hit kill our team’s mental state…”

“Calm down, Revan. To create an axe that can fell a giant tree, it must be tempered a thousand times.”

“… But why are you giving all these metaphors since earlier-”

“Oh! Oh! There’s a Warrior in the bot lane! Help! Help! Come quick!”

“Hang in there a bit. You have emergency evasion, right?”

“Ah… it’s okay now.”

『Arc (Mage) has been slain!』

『Got Devoured Devoured (Warrior) → Arc (Mage)』

Approximately one hour into this sudden 3-man queue session, Revan felt as though he was embodying the opening act of a third-rate sports movie.

– “Turn on the broadcast, turn on the broadcast, turn on the broadcast, turn on the broadcast, turn on the broadcast, turn on the broadcast, turn on the broadcast”

– “Why is it so chaotic here?”

– “This is a mess”

– “I want to see the Warriorㅠㅠ”

– “Turn on the broadcast, you stubborn fool!!!”

– “Ugh, why are they spamming here?”

– “The breath of hell, lOL LOL LOL LOL LOL.”

– “Revan, I think the tournament is ruined.”

– “There are two Challengers, but there’s a 3-man queue that’s getting wrecked by normal players?”

If one had to pinpoint it, now could perhaps be likened to a scene where the audience jeered and threw beer cans into the stadium.

– “Why isn’t the broadcast up yet? Do you know how many viewers are looking for you right now…?”

– ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won! –

【Oh no, I picked the wrong broadcaster and now I have to awkwardly watch someone else’s broadcast. How miserable.】

There were already a few donations like this. It’s said that the viewers are like the broadcaster. But where was the sign of awkwardness in that?

Probably, this donation was aimed for Lee Yena to hear, but it was pointless. As soon as the game started, Lee Yena had already turned off Revan’s broadcast as if it were the natural thing to do.

Maybe because of that, Lee Yena’s voice was completely calm.

《Ah, I promised my viewers that I’d always give a heads up about streams. But today I couldn’t make an announcement. Turning on the broadcast without an announcement feels a bit…》

“What do you mean by that… Just start the broadcast and bring your viewers over. My chat is going crazy right now.”

– ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won! –

【Yeah, start the broadcast and bring us over!!! It’s too cold here…】

《It might not be much consolation, but my broadcast is in a similar state right now too…》

“That’s really not consoling. Ah, I’m not blaming you, Arc…”

《Ah. They’re camping here.》

『Eat You (Rogue) has been killed!』

『Grimgrim (Holy Knight) → Eat You (Rogue)』

A cheerful voice was followed by a despairing message.

She glanced at the minimap. The gray-toned portrait of the Rogue was left alone deep in enemy territory.

“… The Knight was all the way over there?”

《Yes. It was supposed to be just the Archer and the Mage. I think they’re broadcast-sniping.》

Her head throbbed.

When and how did the Knight end up there? And more importantly, why didn’t our top Knight call out that the enemies were missing when the opposing Knight had gone that deep?

The team’s skill was disheartening, their coordination was the worst, and the enemies were clearly broadcast-sniping.

You could lose the first match. It’s just a casual game, winning or losing one didn’t matter much. The real issue was the tournament. And the outlook for that tournament was bleak.

“You said it was an assassination-focused build, right?”

“Yes. But you can’t pierce through full-plate armor with a bamboo spear. Knights are the ones you should avoid in this build.”

What they said made sense. You could tell just by looking at the amount of movement involved. A build that practically abandoned the rogue’s already insufficient attack characteristics, opting instead to fully invest in mobility and stealth.

It was a build that should never encounter solid frontlines like knights or warriors. It made so much sense that it hurt even more – Revan suppressed his feelings with a small sigh and made a suggestion.

“…… Should we surrender?”

“Yes, let’s move on to the next game. I played terribly. I’m sorry.”

“Hmm…… Is it that bad? Isn’t it worth trying?”

“GetDevoured, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“It’s frustrating.”

“What’s frustrating already…… Ha. You don’t want to surrender because I said I’d go underground in the next game, right?”

“No, that’s not it. See, I was saying it’s frustrating.”

“You answered too fast, which makes it even weirder-”

“Oh. I’m still keeping this.”

‘Devour You (Rogue) has been killed!’

‘GrumbleGrumble (Holy Knight) → Devour You (Rogue)’

‘GrumbleGrumble (Holy Knight) is rampaging!’

“…… Please, let’s surrender and have a brief strategy meeting. GetDevoured, please, for the love of everything, start your streaming.”

* * * *

“Testing, testing. Can you hear me?”

– ‘Why only now!!!’

– ‘Thank you…….’

– ‘We were so sadㅠㅠㅠㅠ’

– ‘Sis, don’t abandon us… It was too cold…’

– ‘Banned 5 accounts in Revan’s room and 3 accounts in Arc’s room in 30 minutes, how’s my day going?’

– ‘Turn on the cam, turn on the cam, turn on the cam’

– ‘The tournament’s probably screwed anyway, let’s just drink’

– ‘Is she always like this?’

– ‘Why did she ignore us when we asked but started streaming immediately when Revan asked? Are they something together? GetDevoured will do anything Revan asks… GetDevoured isn’t the same…’

Despite hastily posting a short notice before starting the broadcast, the viewers flocked in as if they’d been waiting. Indeed, the power of collabs with major creators.

The chat window surged like a crowded wave pool, moving faster than ever. Perhaps it was thanks to the excited viewers flooding the chat with all kinds of emotes.

The sight of pouring chats mixed with all kinds of emoticons was quite a spectacle. Familiar emoticons flowed by while new ones bobbed along.

On Tw*tch, emoticons were often rewards for subscribing to a channel, so the use of particular emoticons could reveal which channel a viewer hailed from.

“Should I restrict it to only emoticons?”

“I’d like to see where most people come from.”

—A donation of 1,000 won has been made by Get Eaten DevourNSteal GetDevoured DevourNSteal DevourNSteal DevourNSteal!—

【Teacher, there are too many new recruits. Let’s establish some order with the ocarina.】

Oh.

I hadn’t thought of that, but it was a good idea. Indeed, the power of collective intelligence.

“Ocarina… Yes. That’s a good idea. I’ll play it during a break later. We’re currently in a collaboration broadcast. Ah, would the two of you like to listen as well?”

—A donation of 1,000 won has been made by ㅇㅇ!—

【Teacher, please, don’t mess with us… We’re on our knees here.】

Well, it’s not that serious. Somewhere inside me, I heard the voice of a mischievous child urging me to reach for the ocarina.

“Then, shall we adjust our character rotation first? Considering the rules, at least two players won’t be able to pick their main characters, right?”

Still… I had to resist.

Sharing my musical side would be more enjoyable later during a private session with my viewers. Though Revan and Arc might appreciate it, I wasn’t sure if the viewers did.

More importantly, we had a significant discussion to focus on. I needed to show my undivided attention.

“Yes. Oh, by the way, the rules have changed a bit. Did you see it, Arc? The first random pick is out of six characters, the second random one out of the remaining five, and the opponent’s pick will be out of the remaining four. So, there’s no risk of picking three rogues by accident.”

“… By accident?”

“Oh! Yes, Revan… Anyway, I’m most confident about the mage, but I can also handle a priest. Melee would be challenging… How about you, Revan?”

“Yes. My main is Warrior, but I can also play Holy Knight and cover as an archer. Facing a Challenger-level archer might be tough, though, so it depends on the opponent.”

“Rogue.”

“Pardon?”

“Well, it’s my main role… but I can handle most characters to some extent. I’m not really into mages, but Arc should be able to cover that.”

“Oh, yes. You’re really good at both rogue and knight. So, we’re just missing an archer and a priest. The rest seem fine!”

“Then… how about we decide who will play archer if it gets picked?”

“Oh, since both of you can cover it? That’s a good idea! How should we decide—”

“I believe the strong should take it—what do you think, Revan? Shall we decide by debate?”

“Huh?”

This last blank question from Arc was followed by a brief silence. And then—

“Are you coming? I’ve been waiting in the bush for a while now.”

A welcome suggestion was heard.