It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

What about the disciple?

While standing in front of the VR room and looking at my reflection in the door, I pondered. I really didn’t like the look on my face.

“I don’t want to play the sacred KoK in VR…”

It was as if I could still hear that voice coming from inside me. No matter how advanced technology might have become, history and tradition still had their rightful place.

VR games should remain appropriate for VR. You know, rollercoaster experiences or cliff-walking simulations… those kinds of things. Casual and light, not mainstream.

This wasn’t about the memories of watching my beloved games being pushed aside by VR games, tournaments being canceled, and users disappearing, while I had to watch it all unfold with my own eyes.

Really.

To play KoK in VR—if my comrades from the past, who shared this journey with me until Season 8, heard about it, they would decapitate me and display my head as a warning. I could almost see my preserved image on the forum’s main entrance.

However…

Yesterday, I couldn’t help but remember StarPork, who followed me around like a chick saying, “Yes, teacher!” no matter what I said. She even refused to be a Warrior. Later, when I asked her to practice dancing in place, she did it without a single question.

Her skills were a bit off, but when meeting such an eager student, it is only human to have a soft spot for them.

Even though I hadn’t signed up for the mentor program to take part in the tournament, now that things had come to this, I had to do it properly.

And to do it properly, the first step was to view the game from my disciple’s perspective.

In other words, I had to reluctantly put on the VR gear. Even a master who made a name for himself with the sword can’t teach it without having swung a sword at least once.

On second thought, it would make more sense for my disciple to learn the sword… but it was unreasonable to ask her to learn how to play the game with a keyboard and mouse in just a week.

Thus, I found myself standing in front of a 24-hour VR room at 2 AM.

-Sigh

Hesitating wouldn’t change anything.

-Ding!

“Welcome.”

The male part-timer behind the counter sat lazily, barely lifting his head from his phone to offer a lackluster greeting. He didn’t seem interested in customer service.

Was it similar to a PC bang system? Guests would sit down in front of an available machine and start playing on their own—something like that.

As I walked inside and looked around, I couldn’t find any clues. The room was divided into individual partitions… surely the VR equipment would be inside, but I had no idea if I could just enter any one of them.

An explanation of the system would be nice.

I tried to make eye contact with the part-time worker, but it was futile. After all, why would someone want to help customers when they could get paid just by playing with their phone?

The thirsty one must dig the well.

“Hello.”

I walked to the counter, leaning my head forward as I greeted. It was partly to grab attention, but honestly, I was curious about what the worker was doing on their phone.

Ah, it was KoK’s broadcast. Judging from the scores and team names on the screen, it was a professional match.

“Yes, what can I do for—oh?!”

… Guess I got a bit too close. The part-time worker, rising from his chair, recoiled in shock and stumbled back into his seat. If the chair hadn’t been there, he would’ve fallen quite spectacularly.

That’s got to be embarrassing. During such moments, the best way to help minimize the embarrassment is to act as nonchalant and unaffected as possible.

“Excuse me, it’s my first time here. Could you explain how it works?”

“Pardon? Ah, yes! Yes! Just a moment, could you please come this way?”

The part-time worker scrambled to his feet and began walking ahead. He kept glancing back nervously, which made him seem a bit pitiable. Best to just pretend not to notice.

…

“This is how you do it. Is the screen sync okay?”

“Yes, it’s good.”

Thanks to the worker’s kind assistance with the gear and setup, they quickly got accustomed to the unfamiliar equipment.

But, is it okay for them to be away from the counter for this long?

Not that it’s my concern. It being dawn, there probably aren’t any customers around.

“Do you have a game in mind? Women often choose MasterSports. If you prefer something more relaxing, there are also games with cute sceneries. Would you like a recommendation?”

“Well… I’m here for KoK. It’s okay.”

“KoK? Have you played it before?”

KoK was a VR game. It would be weird to claim experience with KoK without having used VR gear, and explaining that they had been playing with a keyboard and mouse for nine years would be even stranger.

Feeling too lazy to explain, they just nodded vaguely and bowed lightly.

“I’ll start now. Thank you.”

“Oh, sure. If you need help, press this bell! I play KoK too, so I can help you out.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Would you like a drink? It’s on me. To celebrate your first time here.”

A drink… a matured barley drink, sounded tempting.

However, I had already scanned the refrigerator earlier. This place didn’t deal with alcohol.

“It’s alright. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

“Okay! If you need anything, just press the bell here anytime. Have a great time!”

Nodding slightly as I said my thanks, the part-time worker finally left with a cheerful smile.

It wasn’t easy.

*-Sigh*

I wondered how VR KoK would feel. Taking a light deep breath, I logged in with my prepared secondary account.

* * * *

StarPork’s, or Yoon Ari’s, day started fairly early for a broadcaster. While she mainly focused on daytime broadcasts, the fundamental reason was her cohabiting cat who didn’t allow her to sleep in.

8 a.m.

It wasn’t an easy time for StarPork, who had gone to bed past 1 a.m. the previous night, to wake up. It was even harder to resist the pressure of the cat standing on her stomach and kneading with weighted paws.

“Okay… Unnie’s up. I’ll feed you.”

It was another moment where a human conceded to a cat. It was inevitable. In battles of affection, the one who loves more is bound to lose.

Forcing her eyes open, she habitually grabbed her phone, which displayed the broadcast of CravingWarmAmericano that she had been watching until she fell asleep.

Technically, it was her unofficial FanTube channel.

The FanTube was nearing 10,000 subscribers.

She wondered when would the official G-Tube channel be made. In the past, she thought there might be some plan behind it, but if she were to bet her entire fortune now, she’d wager that “it simply wasn’t on their mind to create one”.

Having watched Lee Yena’s streams frequently, she understood a bit about her personality.

“If only she’d just broadcast more often, that’d be great.”

Taking out cat food from the cupboard and filling the bowl, she glanced through the video list on the FanTube. Unsurprisingly, all the videos were ones she’d already watched.

Despite being a voluntary FanTube, the quality and speed of the uploads were impressive, although the quantity was always lacking. The original broadcaster rarely supplied the source material, to begin with.

Recalling the time she was driven to create a secondary account and leave a comment on Lee Yena’s WeTogether saying, “Please start a broadcast, it’s been days, seriouslyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”, the recent broadcast frequency seemed acceptable, at least.

“I hope the next video is uploaded soon.”

Maybe the broadcast from yesterday with her would be uploaded. It would be a bit embarrassing, but as a fan, she couldn’t help but look forward to it.

Yoon Ahri had tuned into her broadcast when Lee Yena was doing non-stop broadcasts until she reached the Challenger rank. By then, she was completely captivated.

At first, when she encountered the video titled ‘The Streamer Next Door Aims for Challenger’ through a donation, her impression was merely, ‘The voice sounds nice.’

However, later that night, after her broadcast ended, she rolled around in bed out of curiosity and accessed it for a moment. Lee Yena was mixing in fake orders and teasing the snipers –

StarPork, who frequently suffered from sniper attacks, felt an overwhelming vicarious satisfaction. She found herself rolling in bed, laughing out loud uncontrollably.

From that day on, starPork’s daily routine included ‘Watching GetDevoured’s broadcast (or, leaving comments asking when she would start streaming).’

Coincidentally, Lee Yena’s streaming time didn’t clash with hers, which was fortunate. Of course, there were more days when she didn’t broadcast at all-

-Meow

The sound of a cat impatiently meowing at her feet could be heard.

“Yes, here you go. Enjoy your meal.”

Gently patting the cat that was burying its head in the bowl and purring, starPork quickly stretched her body and sat down in front of the computer.

‘Need to review.’

This was a rare opportunity to get a direct lesson from her favorite broadcaster, who was currently a Challenger. She didn’t want to waste it. After all, this tournament could be a chance to get closer.

Even though she shyly spoke only phrases like ‘Where do you live?’ and ‘Wow! I live in Seoul, too!’ during almost two hours of learning.

If they could achieve good results in the tournament, perhaps they could even have a gathering in real life. Though since she didn’t reveal her face, she might not attend the gathering either.

Imagining Lee Yena in her head, she moved the mouse.

The Discourse icon was flashing with notifications. Had the remaining team members been chatting after she went to bed? Most of them were active from evening till dawn, after all.

『Arc: See you all tomorrow at 8 PM!』

『StarPork: Okay!! I’m heading to bed first!! Everyone, you worked so hardㅠㅠㅠㅠ』

『Gorabox: Yep. Great job, everyone.』

『Revan: See you tomorrow』

『Guntak: Our mentor teachers, get some good rest~~~』

But the only chats in the group chat of six people were from the goodnight messages exchanged the previous night.

‘Then why is there a notification… huh?’

The blinking notification was a personal message from Lee Yena.

『CravingWarmAmericano: StarPork-nim』

『CravingWarmAmericano: Would you like to go to the VR room together?』

TL’s Corner:

Oh, Lee Yena finally getting on VR!!!