It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

Chapter 63 – A Craftsman Does Not Consider Means and Methods

=VICTORY!=

The music signaling a fifth consecutive win echoed through the broadcast. Lee Yena, who had occasionally sacrificed her own items to boost the team’s firepower, was overwhelmingly carrying the game more than usual.

Of course, this was possible because she could always take on a carry role based on her physical skills—

“Hmm… Rogues… Rogues are good.”

In reality, Yena often gained an advantage by overwhelming opponents in most scenarios using her physical skill and psychological tactics.

The deeper someone’s knowledge of KoK, and the better they understood the underlying psychological battles in each step, the more amazed they would be at her skill.

Unfortunately, purely admiring comments about her skill were rather rare in the chat.

『Wow, that’s insane』

『Let’s spam “legendary”』

『This isn’t a smurf? If a girl is this good, why isn’t she a pro instead of a low-tier broadcaster』

『If a rogue is in the game, it becomes a luck-based crap game, seriously』

『Game by boyfriend~ Voice by girlfriend~ Money by the broth! Game by boyfriend~ Voice by girlfriend~ Money by the broth!』

『This broadcast is great because there’s no manager』

『Turn on the cam, turn on the cam, turn on the cam』

The chat, more than just lively, was uproarious and noisy, with a cascade of 1,000-won troll donations raining down. Revan’s impression of this chaotic scene remained unchanged from when he first watched Yena’s broadcast.

‘This is nuts.’

The chat, which looked as if it had been transplanted directly from some forum board, had become untameable with just one or two managers.

After some aggro and toxic elements ran rampant, the broken window theory seemed to illustrate this perfectly—where a single broken window suggests it’s okay to break the rules, eventually increasing the crime rate in the surrounding area.

…Although, in this case, it seemed the broadcaster herself had initially broken that first window—Revan thought, furrowing his brows slightly.

‘…That username looks familiar.’

He recognized a few usernames in the chat from his own broadcast—although the content of the current chat was something he didn’t really want to read. Although the overlap in viewership between such streams was somewhat concerning—

Yena’s gameplay made all such worries seem trivial. Her performance was enough to make anyone forget their concerns. It was almost incomprehensible that viewers witnessing such gameplay would be filling the chat with those kinds of comments.

-『ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won!』-

【I’m a priest user, and just watching this gives me PTSD…】

《A priest user… oh dear. How about switching to a rogue during this opportunity? PTSD can be improved with cognitive-behavioral therapy.》

Of course… it was also hard to understand how someone could make such absurd comments while playing at this level. If it weren’t for the hand-cam (?) broadcast she did, even Revan might have doubted whether this broadcaster and the gamer were truly the same person.

-『ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won!』-

【Looks like you can hit Challenger with just 15 more wins, teacher?】

《Hmm… shall we check?》

Soon, a list of the top 500 Challenger players appeared on screen. Most were comprised of current and former pro gamers—Revan’s own ID would be somewhere around the 200s on this honorable list.

Yena, after confirming the cutoff at the bottom of the list, hesitated in silence, scrolling through the names from 492nd to 500th place with her mouse—

-Hoo.

With a soft sigh, she logged back into the KoK client and began searching for another match. It was a sigh filled with resolve and competitive spirit.

Even Revan, who found his competitive desire reignited by watching Yena’s recent plays, felt his heart race a little—

No,

…He even felt a slight urge to queue up himself just in case.

*

『Wow, Revan’s smurf got matched again LOL』

『Bro, stop lurking and just broadcast already~~~』

『Looks like the rating has gone up a lot ㄷㄷㄷ』

『Familiar names here』

『Isn’t that Mage’s smurf?』

『Pro’s smurf accounts are starting to show up too ㄷㄷ She might actually hit Challenger』

The chat, which had been calming down, began to surge like waves again. Apparently, some well-known players were on the same team. The chat was filled with discussions about the team members.

Specifically, a lot of talk was centered around the player with the ID, REVAN, who was supposedly the “main of that warrior”.

Once again, the term “male cam” was frequently mentioned.

– So, he was a male cam broadcaster, not just a cunning character like a warrior? Interesting.

For a moment, I felt like adding a rule on the broadcast to only talk about rogues, but she restrained herself. It’s a matter of pride in the Rogue Revival Movement. We can’t appear desperate.

Instead, as a compromise, I minimized the chat window to the size of four mouse cursors combined. The chat, which was bustling with talk about pros and Revan, now appeared as tiny moving dots.

It felt like neatly covering a package.

Once the game ends and I reopen it, surely the chat will have transformed into something beautiful.

『GetDevoured: I’ll go underground as a rogue』

『Mage is Fun: I’ll take any other open position』

『REVAN: Then I’ll go bottom as a knight』

『Guard the Mage: Mage』

『Dork: Carry』

『Requiem: Isn’t the second pick a Warrior user?』

『Requiem: Just go underground as a Warrior』

『Requiem: Why doesn’t the fifth pick yield?』

『GetDevoured: T-G-U』

『Requiem: ???』

『GetDevoured: It means ‘I’ll go underground as a rogue’』

『REVAN: It’s okay, I’ll go knight』

『GetDevoured: T-G-U』

『Requiem: N-M-Y』

『Requiem: It means ‘Your Mother’』

『Guard the Mage: No fighting, guys』

Ah, what a familiar chat. This was possible only during KoK’s early release.

Faraday Games could catch English curses well enough, but it lacked the capability to review the multitude of insults from various languages around the world.

In the midst of it all, some things remain unchanged from my past life. Honestly, I don’t miss it… but it doesn’t bother me greatly either.

As long as everyone plays properly in-game. I rolled my shoulders to relax and took a big spoonful of the mint chocolate ice cream I’d been saving.

…Eating it occasionally seems to improve my game efficiency and relieve stress a bit.

By the way, that Revan person, he gives up on Warrior rather easily. Maybe I could get him to switch. Find some weak point… no, that’s not right. Maybe try to win him over… Not sure how to do that, though.

*

Revan exhaled an irritated breath through clenched teeth, struggling to suppress the urge to dive headfirst into a brawl. He clenched and unclenched his hands a couple of times, adjusting his posture according to his usual routine, but the frustration simmering inside didn’t ease easily.

Being matched on the same team as before didn’t sit well with him. And the engagement was infuriatingly sluggish.

-Thwack!

A probing strike aimed at the defending enemy holy knight was easily blocked by a similarly light shield movement. Though he deliberately relaxed his blade to feign vulnerability and invite a counterattack—

The knight with the dark blue tower shield merely stepped back to increase the distance once again. It was a scenario Revan often encountered when playing on his secondary account.

The opponents, recognizing his Challenger status, adopted a defensive mindset, unwilling to engage in direct confrontation. He needed to drain his opponent’s stamina.

Easier said than done, depleting the stamina of a determined defender is challenging without a significant skill gap. With his left hand dangling lightly holding the shield, he stepped forward with his right foot.

A declaration and provocation to switch to an all-out attack. Instead of retaliating, his opponent raised their shield and hid behind it, which made Revan want to sigh in frustration.

A moment ago, GetDevoured’s gameplay had his heart racing, replaying in his mind. How would GetDevoured have drained the stamina here?

Her characteristic playstyle of drawing the opponent in to the extreme, forcing awkward movements, and then countering seemed almost visible. Her bizarre armor setup and even the hood seemed visible—

“What the…”

Why does it actually appear?

Lee Yena, who had dived underground, appeared on the surface barely three minutes into the game. There was no time to question her actions. The hooded rogue sneaked behind the enemy and plunged a long dagger into the joints of the thick plate armor.

Before the knight could turn around and swing their sword, it was time to retreat. Yet, she moved with the confidence that her opponent’s counterattack would be delayed—or that she could dodge it at the last moment—striking twice more with composed movements.

With such a gift of an opening, there was no reason to hesitate. As the frustrated enemy knight threw a light poke at Revan while taking an evasive action, Revan swiftly lunged, narrowly dodging the incoming sword by a hair’s breadth.

Following this, he swung his blade towards his opponent’s waist from a half-raised stance—

Then, with seamless execution, followed up with a shield bash into a tackle, ready to counter an evasive retreat. A combo mastered to perfection with his dual-axe warrior build.

Unsurprisingly, the opponent, torn between him and Yena, lost balance after dodging the first blow and collapsed under his tackle—

Pinned with a knee to their chest, they became the victim of his reverse-grip sword execution motion. Feeling an exhilarating sense of relief, just as he was about to compliment the good teamwork,

《…Are you, um, older?》

A green microphone icon appeared above the rogue’s head, and an incomprehensible question was asked. Was this mocking him for not finishing off a weaker opponent quickly?

A common jab like, ‘Ugh, I don’t want to get old,’ implying his skills were declining…

Just as Revan was about to retort in indignation,

《Oh, my question might be a bit off… do you, uh, trim builds?》

With this follow-up, he closed his mouth, feeling a cold sweat break out.

…His secret smurf account, “Old Man Shaves Builds” had faced Yena one-on-one before.

She figured it out. How she recognized him was a mystery.