It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

Victory.

Ark, Kim Jinhee savored that sweet word multiple times in her mind. Victory. To think it was victory.

Seizing victory in the spotlight was always exhilarating. This time, though they didn’t reach the very center, a win was a win. Moreover, their contribution wasn’t insignificant enough to be cast out of the spotlight entirely.

Unlike the semifinals where everyone was practically forced to be carried by Lee Yena, Ark took pride in their genuine contribution to the finals. Despite sending two Challengers to the bottom and top lanes, their main base endured. This would have been impossible without precise cooldown management and strategic spell usage.

It was a performance showcased before an audience of 100,000. Although becoming the MVP might have been a stretch, no one could deny she was the hidden hero of the victory. The chat, filled with praise for her, was proof enough.

Even posts such as “The Real Carry of the Tournament is Ark” appeared on the fan cafe, and Ark’s fans, usually quick to criticize her, basked in her success for the first time in a long while.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this was Ark’s best performance since debuting as a broadcaster. After all, the broadcast initially began from a desire for people to see and applaud her gaming skills.

A smile naturally formed on her lips. She reflected that the narrative of the finals was just perfect. A team that seemed to be at a disadvantage overcame critical moments consistently and ultimately emerged with an overwhelming victory.

It was like a hero’s tale drawn out perfectly.

Ark felt she could run a storytelling broadcast for 6 hours and make at least 2 FanTube videos from it. By exaggerating the crises a bit and detailing how she overcame them, recounting everything from the first practice day — even 6 hours might not be enough.

Of course, if asked whether she genuinely felt a sense of crisis that they might lose, she had to admit honestly that she hadn’t. Sorry to Revan, but it was because of one person.

GetDevoured, Lee Yena.

Ark suddenly recalled the almost magical gameplay that Lee Yena showcased. Her overwhelming combat power and strategic maneuvering made one question if they were playing the same game.

Thus, trying to come to terms by thinking, “So that’s what makes a real Challenger different”, she was astonished again when Lee Yena single-handedly decapitated another Challenger.

It was, quite literally, remarkable. The slight worry of a flaming disaster vanished from Ark’s mind after the tournament when she watched Lee Yena’s highlights as the greatsword knight.

At that level, even hurling insults fitted her character. Already, Ark was preoccupied with how to best feature Lee Yena on her FanTube thumbnail for maximum attention.

‘If only she did a face reveal… I could’ve hit 1 million, no, maybe even 2 million views.’

If her face were photoshopped onto that article.

Even though she knew it was an impossible notion, she couldn’t help but momentarily imagine it. If people found out that such a fierce, borderline terrifying article contained the face of someone she had seen—someone so gorgeous that even celebrities couldn’t compare—just how wildly people would react.

‘… Would that chest even fit inside the armor? I think the armor would have to be customized to fit her.’

– Duru-ring

Ark snapped out of her reverie, her face tinged with a slight blush, upon hearing the notification sound of a participant leaving the Discourse chat room.

『CravingWarmAmericano: I’m off to my interview.』

A short message remained in the group chat, now reduced to five participants. Gorabox followed up with an explanation, stating that the organizers had requested everyone to leave other voice chats to avoid any potential mixing of sounds.

‘Was it because I screamed too much during the last interview, so it even got picked up by the mic? No, I don’t think it was that bad… Or was it? No, I did manage to stop myself from calling the official broadcast a logger show…’

Why was it?

With these various doubts and justifications swirling in her mind, Ark fleetingly entertained the thought, ‘Could this be the most precarious moment in the entire competition?’

.

.

.

《Hello, CravingWarmAmericano-nim! First, congratulations on winning and being named MVP!》

《Yes. Thank you.》

《Your username is quite long; do you perhaps have any nicknames or short names your fans call you?》

《Hmm… nicknames fans use… Nothing specific comes to mind. When I looked on WeTogether last time, ‘crazy bitch’ or ‘ten-year-old’ seemed to be the most common, but those don’t really qualify as nicknames. Oh, for a short form, they use GetDevoured.》

Ark sighed and wrapped her head in her hands without realizing it.

Right.

It wouldn’t be a normal interview if she came back uneventfully.

* * * *

『???』

『Are you seriously saying that?』

『Stop teasing the viewers』

『Look at the caster freezing again LOL LOL』

『Broadcast accident in 3 seconds』

『Crazy girl just joined the chat LOL LOL LOL』

Message temporarily blocked and deleted.

『She’s so embarrassing, no matter where she goes…』

『Crazy year… crazy year… crazy year… crazy year… crazy year…』

Message temporarily blocked and deleted.

『Of course, there’s no way you can do a normal interview… We knew that』

『Ark looks like she’s about to cry LOL LOL LOL』

『Best ever, rogue, best ever, rogue, best ever, rogue, best ever, rogue』

『Why is that crazy girl term blocked when it’s used in interviews? (Seriously don’t know) Why is that crazy girl term blocked when it’s used in interviews? (Seriously don’t know) Why is that crazy girl term blocked when it’s used in interviews? (Seriously don’t know)』

Message temporarily blocked and deleted.

『An interview in front of 110,000 people ㅠㅠ Our GetDevoured isn’t a rookie anymore ㅠㅠ Bring back the forehead-cam days of GetDevoured ㅠㅠ An interview in front of 110,000 people ㅠㅠ Our GetDevoured isn’t a rookie anymore ㅠㅠ Bring back the forehead-cam days of GetDevoured ㅠㅠ』

Despite the slow mode being activated, the chat window of the official broadcast was stuttering dangerously.

The sheer power was overwhelming. It was a chat window you would expect to see during a pro league final.

Even for Sunghoon, who had been a caster and commentator for various game broadcaster tournaments, this was a scene he was witnessing for the first time.

When asked his thoughts about the chaotic scene… honestly, he felt like grabbing the producer by the collar for suggesting incorporating real-time chat into the interview bit by bit.

“This isn’t a manageable level of activity.”

It felt as if every person interested in internet broadcasting had gathered in KoK. Usually, when a game ended and transitioned into an MVP interview, the number of viewers would generally drop. However, the viewer count displayed on the bottom right corner was steadily rising.

Amid the fast-moving chat, GetDevoured particularly noticed the flood of comments emphasizing that the interview was indeed the main event. Judging by the frequency, it was the opinion of at least hundreds of people.

“It would have been nice to be informed about this in advance.”

A

Indeed, he must grab the producer by the collar next time.

But there was no time to indulge in such sweet fantasies. On the other end of the call, the cause of this chaos… no, the protagonist was waiting for the next question.

《Haha, I guess everyone is amazed by your always new and surprising plays each match, GetDevoured-nim! Then, let’s start by talking about the first set of the finals. It was peculiar that you used a crossbow archer, which is rarely seen in ranked games. Was it a pre-planned strategy?》

《Yes.》

A slightly weary and languid voice. Seonghoon, who was waiting for the continuation, realized after about three seconds of silence that this monosyllabic response was all there would be.

‘Today is not going to be easy.’

《…… I see. Could you explain the strategy you had in mind?》

《Um… The focus was for the main squad made up of a mage, knight, and priest to hold their ground while the rogue and archer dominated the underground. The rogue would then join the main squad before it completely crumbled to hold on, and the archer would time an ambush on the towers when the enemy had no vision underground, breaking them and descending to attack the enemy’s rear. To put it simply, that was the general plan.》

Fortunately, GetDevoured wasn’t someone who couldn’t speak. As a broadcaster, not having a way with words would mean not surviving, after all.

If he minimized yes/no questions and only asked half-directed ones, the interview would manage somehow. Sensing a rough grasp on the situation, seonghoon secretly sighed in relief.

《Ah, hearing you say that brings back memories of the first set! I felt it was an embodiment of the ‘attack the tower’ tactic. Particularly in the tower ambush scenario, your synergy with Revan-nim was the most impressive. The unexpected timing and unstoppable assault were marvelous. What kind of calls were there at that moment?》

《None.》

《Excuse me? Ah, so it was a pre-coordinated strategy?》

《Um… We didn’t exactly coordinate in advance… but through practice, I got to understand Revan-nim quite well. He is more cautious than I thought…. Oh, for instance, he rarely expresses his emotions. Even when it came to meals, he wouldn’t say anything until I asked to eat together. So I figured I had to take the lead with Revan-nim. That’s roughly it.》

《So, you mean… Ms. GetDevoured-nim… you led and orchestrated the plays, right? Um, well, let’s proceed to the next question….》

His relief was a bit premature.