It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

Kidnapping… or rather, bringing StarPork was surprisingly easy. Arc had to focus on taking care of the backline Gorabox, so naturally, she was out of the equation. Revan, who was expected to put up a fierce resistance, casually yielded with a, “Then, let’s take this in rotation. It actually works out better.”

…It felt a little… strange. It was as if there was a hidden meaning behind his words.

But, it didn’t really matter.

Isn’t teaching a prodigy one of life’s three great joys?

Though it was still hard to fully empathize with that statement, taking a marked junior under one’s wing was quite delightful.

Even if there was a bit of bad influence in them, wasn’t it a matter of reforming them from now on? If someone like ReformedGwangjil could be rehabilitated, then there was no hopeless Warrior in the world. It was all a matter of proper guidance.

Moreover, in this case, the fact that StarPork was formerly a Warrior was actually a plus. The plan was to cultivate this small bud properly and feature them on promotional placards.

Why not? Just like academies would distribute flyers that said ‘Such and such student from such and such academy, admitted to Seoul National University!’ Schools would hang banners as well.

Phrases like, ‘StarPork, formerly a Bronze Warrior, transitioned to a Rogue and achieved Diamond after winning a tournament!’ were already floating in my mind. It was important not to get ahead of myself though.

After all, KoK was a game with a certain set of principles. It didn’t require extraordinary talent to go from bronze to the lower bracket of Diamond.

That’s what I thought.

Apparently, StarPork had been an Underground… Underground player.

《Ah! I’m sorry! Uh… Goblin… Goblin…》

Failing three consecutive times while practicing the predetermined route wasn’t making sense.

No. It was possible. The underground map… had a staggering 8 dungeons. It made sense to get confused.

Thinking about a baby helped. I calmed my mind by recalling my young cousin crawling around the floor with a bright smile.

Anyone can’t use a spoon properly before they learn how. Everyone has their first time.

“Alright. Let’s stop for a moment, shall we?”

《What? Oh, yes! I’ve stopped! I’m sorry… I didn’t hear what you said earlier.》

The flustered Rogue stopped dead in place, almost collapsing. It was amazing that one could lose balance even in a stationary position.

“Let’s check the gamma settings. If they’re set incorrectly, it might be hard to see.”

《Gamma settings? I don’t know much about that… but I think it’s set to default. Let me show you the screen!》

…It was indeed set to default.

“Why?”

《What?》

No, seriously, why.

Shouldn’t they be able to see then?

“Nevermind. Let’s go back a bit. Yes… a little more to the location you land right after climbing down the ladder. Okay, stop there. Now, can you look at the right wall for a moment?”

《Yes… I’m looking at it.》

“No, angle it a bit differently. Imagine you’re looking at the third torch from a 45-degree angle. Yes, right there. Now, on the screen, the fifth from the top, third brick from the left. Do you see it?”

《…Yes.》

“That brick is slightly larger than the others, right? So, it’s not the first or the fifth. Can you move forward a bit from there? Yes, up to that point. Now, look at the floor to your left. What do you see?”

《Uh… just a gray brick… the floor… I think?》

“Exactly. It’s just a gray floor with no cracks, right? So, it’s not the third or seventh. Now, move forward while looking at the front and the ceiling. Can you tell what map it is?”

《…I’m sorry.》

No, I wasn’t asking for an apology.

…Emergency alcohol… where did I put it.

.

.

.

About ten minutes later.

《I thought we should have a mid-point check and a mentor meeting, so I called everyone here! We don’t have much time, so let’s share some information for more consistent training, shall we?》

Revan called everyone so urgently; I wondered what he wanted to say.

《Yes, that sounds good. What information should we share… Well, Guntak, if you practice with the large shield, you will improve quickly. You have a good sense of the game and a habit of watching the opponent’s movements to the end before defending. Your cautious style fits a knight well.》

《Ah, that’s great! I mainly observed the playmaking aspect. Gorabox has a really broad field of view. It might be good to start training with a longbow archer build to position properly.》

Was it already time to boast about our disciples? They barely dispersed and already… they should at least have some conscience.

I had a lot to say but held back.

Even though it hadn’t been even 20 minutes since I became a mentor… my disciple had a lot of strengths too. For example, uh…

“StarPork is bold and creative.”

It wasn’t a lie. Watching her move in ways I could never have imagined, I could only think she was incredibly creative.

《Ah… yes. Well… I briefly watched GetDevoured-nim’s broadcast earlier… It was good enough for me to learn a lot from it… but the difficulty is high… What if we teach more basic fundamentals first?》

Fundamentals. Basic fundamentals.

…What I was passing on earlier was the most basic of basics in Underground.

KoK’s map was never the same. While the surface was fixed, the Underground was randomly chosen from eight maps when the game started.

There was no particular theme difference between the eight maps, so you wouldn’t know which map it was until you checked. It’s a remnant showing Faraday Games was originally a small company that made roguelike indie games.

But unlike laughable Easter eggs, this directly impacted gameplay.

The eight maps had fixed elements like specific traps, boss mobs, and boxes, but most neutral monster and box locations varied by map.

Depending on how quickly you realized what battlefield you were in, the efficiency of your route could change vastly—especially in the high ranks where every second mattered, this difference could snowball brutally.

For a seasoned KoK Underground player, identifying which map it was within 20-30 seconds of entry was foundational.

It was really basic.

“Yes. Fundamentals are important.”

《Yes! Even if StarPork-nim goes underground in the tournament, we can draft a rough route. The first step would be to make sure we can at least handle basic skirmishes.》

Could it be called underground if you don’t plan a route? It was too different from the rogue I aspired to be. While the tournament was important… this was the moment to raise a rogue to the fullest.

Still, there was some sense to it. Observing terrain and understanding the map could be seen as mere memorization. It could be assigned as homework.

For now, I needed to assess the skirmishing sense too.

Should I try sparring?

* * * *

‘Should I… not look at the chat?’

As a broadcaster in her first year, StarPork, whose real name was Yoon Ahri, was still a rookie, but she was striving earnestly because of it.

Closely monitoring the chat was part of her efforts to gauge the audience’s sentiment and to increase favorable interactions. Many viewers had become fans because of her earnest attitude.

However, not all habits were beneficial. Having been sensitive to others’ opinions from a young age, it was extremely difficult for her not to be swayed by the chat’s content.

– 『Pork, don’t cryㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ』

– 『What are people expecting from a bronze level player anyway』

– 『How can anyone distinguish an underground map like that』

– 『GetDevoured is really too much』

– 『Were they good from the beginning LOLOLOL LOL』

– 『Just because you’re good at a game doesn’t mean you can teach it well』

This was happening now too.

Contrary to Yoon Ahri’s feelings, the chat collectively tried to comfort her while criticizing her mentor. Initially, most of the chat teased Yoon Ahri.

But as Ahri’s expression became more sorrowful, the sentiments shifted. Most of her fans enjoyed teasing her but didn’t want to see her genuinely upset. It was only natural they sought someone to blame.

‘I should have managed my expression better. Ah… what do I do?’

It was the situation she wanted to avoid the most. Contrary to Lee Yena’s misunderstanding, Yoon Ahri’s claim of being a fan was one hundred percent genuine.

The more she looked at the chat, the more depressed she became.

‘No, I have to pull it together.’

Yoon Ahri forced a wide smile as she opened her notepad.

“I’ll do some review while the teachers are in a meeting! First, when entering underground, locate the torch on the right wall. Check the size of the bricks. If they’re large, move forward and check the left floor. If small, turn back and look for a puddle. If there’s no size difference, just start running…”

Even though she had pre-noted everything, she couldn’t remember it all.

‘Challengers check all this while playing, huh.’

Feeling her tension drop again, she glanced at the camera feed. Unsurprisingly, her lips had also turned down.

‘I should smile.’

Just as she forced herself to put on a smile again—

“Ah, StarPork-nim?”

It was the familiar voice she heard on the broadcast she always turned on before falling asleep recently.

“Yes, GetDevoured-nim!”

“Would you like to come back to the custom room? I have something to experiment with.”

…

Moments later.

“You have talent.”

As she stood there with a teary face, being used as a punching bag, she heard something she never imagined.

“Excuse me?!”

“You have a knack for evading in combat. It’s an essential talent for a farming rogue. Have you ever tried it?”

“Ah…no. I didn’t even know there were such types…”

“Hmm… that’s great. Shall we start with learning the farming rogue? I think you’ll improve quickly. But, there’s one thing you must remember.”

“Yes! I’ve got my notebook ready!”

For the first time, Yuna realized just how sensitive she was to emotional fluctuations.

She could be so deeply depressed, yet one word of praise could make her feel this elated.

“You have a bit of a bad habit. When you go on the offensive, it seems like you just press the attack key repeatedly. Is that right?”

It was a habit that viewers often pointed out. Although she was usually calm, many laughed that she lost her composure in battles.

“Ah…yes. I get excited…”

“Hmm…it’s natural to get excited in a fight. It’s okay. The problem is that this habit is adapted to your two-handed axe playstyle. You’ve played a lot of dual-axe warriors, haven’t you?”

“Oh, yes! Have you watched my broadcasts?”

“Yes, starting today.”

This meant she hadn’t watched them before.-But before she could feel disappointed, Lee Yena’s always-sweet voice continued smoothly.

“Anyway, that’s not important… Although dual-axe play is good, if you develop habits with it, you won’t be able to play anything else. For practice’s sake, how about we seal the warrior for a while? Even if you want to play warrior later, temporarily sealing it can actually help your skills.”

“Yes! I understand! I won’t play warrior!”

“Yes. I have high expectations of you, StarPork-nim.”

The content was even sweeter than the voice. For now, at least.