NOVEL WEB Chapter 5
Ring~ ring~ ring~!
“Ugh, ugh…?”
Early morning.
Inahi, who had been watching her favorite anime and ended up oversleeping, rolled over at the sound of the phone ringing.
Ring~ ring~ ring~!
But with the phone continuing to ring, Inahi eventually reached out her hand towards her smartphone, still unable to fully open her eyes.
“Ugh… Who’s calling this early?”
Inahi checked the caller ID with her slightly opened eyes.
It was her agency manager.
“Hmm?”
Inahi’s face contorted in puzzlement at her manager’s unexpected call.
There was surely no meeting scheduled for today.
Ah, now that I think about it, didn’t they say they’d follow up later regarding the new song release?
But does that warrant a call this early in the morning?
With that thought in mind, Inahi answered the call with a puzzled look. However, the news that greeted her was far from her expectations.
– Ms. Narling! Why haven’t you answered earlier?
“Huh? Is something the matter…?”
– The community cafe! Have you checked the community?
“Huh? No…”
With the manager’s urgent voice, Inahi quickly turned on her computer and entered the cafe community.
The moment she did, Inahi couldn’t help but open her mouth in disbelief.
“What is this?”
The cafe was ablaze.
Every board in sight was plastered with flame emojis.
And posts kept being added in real-time.
At the sight of it, Inahi’s mind snapped into full alert.
“What in the world is going on?”
– Last night, when you duo’d with that Charge Knight, remember?
“Yes, yes. So why?”
– That Charge Knight is now at the center of an aim-hack controversy! That’s why—
The moment Inahi heard this, her mind reeled.
Aim-hack… Aim-hack, really?
Certainly, when they were duos last night, Charge Knight showed some extraordinary plays, but were all of them due to aim-hacks?
“Is it really true? Is it really a hack?”
– Most of the Time Click streamers now believe it’s a hack. Even the low-rate players are swarming all over this.
Not just the Time Click streamers; even professional Time Click YouTubers suspect a high chance of hacking.
That’s when Inahi began to understand why the cafe was burning so fiercely.
“Ah! The notice!?”
– Yes. That seems to be why this situation has arisen.
Inahi remembered the announcement made right after their duo session that Charge Knight would be invited as a master guest next Wednesday.
So this is why people are swarming in like this.
Inahi, feeling overwhelming stress suddenly creep in, was overwhelmed by a pounding headache.
– Ms. Narling. I know it’s tough, but we need to handle this well right now. Calm down and let’s think this through together.
“Yes… understood…”
– First, let’s work on an apology video and clarification. Thankfully, since you were unaware that this person was hacking, you might get some leniency.
“Wait a moment. Is the hack truly confirmed?”
– Uhh… Well…
“Let’s put it on hold. Please give me a moment to think.”
Is Charge Knight really hacking?
Could it really be true?
The person who spent five long months consistently supporting her streams?
‘Maybe there’s a line they wouldn’t cross?’
Why does Charge Knight get so much love from my viewers?
Sure, they’re a notorious sniper, but the reason viewers love them is because they’ve never done anything to make them uncomfortable.
Beyond that, they’ve shown their appreciation with small gestures and gifts.
And even without those facts, without clear evidence, I don’t want to hastily conclude that Charge Knight is a hacker.
Let’s not forget how much Charge Knight has done for me.
Ever since their arrival, my viewership and chat engagement skyrocketed—all thanks to their contributions.
So Inahi, with her judgment made, said,
“I’m going to reach out to Charge Knight. I believe that investigating this thoroughly and clarifying is the right course of action.”
– Ah, yes.
A person has honor, after all. You can’t just push someone away over suspicion without reason.
“Besides, if we issue an apology now and it turns out they’re not guilty, wouldn’t that be unfair?”
– Well, that’s possible…
So, let’s dig deeper.
With her decision made, Inahi logged into Time Click.
– But can you reach out to them?
“I haven’t added them on Doscode, but we’re connected in-game.”
– They may have blocked you, so check quickly.
“Yes, one moment. Ah!”
Thankfully, Charge Knight’s ID was still marked as online on her friend list.
‘They’re here!’
Inahi immediately messaged Charge Knight.
* * *
As I woke up, things had already spiraled out of control.
[Wow… incredible aim.]
[No, really… insane.]
[Dude, can you actually do this?]
[Me? Maybe if I’m in prime form?]
I was watching a video on YouTube where pro gamers were watching a replay of a match from Doscode.
The title was [Is Master Rank Paladin “Charge Knight” Actually Using Aim-Hack?]
The video they were watching showed a replay of yesterday’s match—my sniper gameplay.
Though the pros were showering it with compliments, it was immediately clear to me that they were mocking it.
[What’s your headshot percentage?]
[87%?]
[And that’s after an hour of playing sniper, right?]
[Yeah.]
[Well, either way, that’s a sure hit, right? What else do you need to see?]
[Honestly, this is also unrealistic. Look over here.]
The scene on the screen showed the enemy healer peeking out from behind cover while stepping sideways.
The moment the healer took the first step, I shot them in the head from where I anticipated the movement.
[Can you actually do this?]
[I could, hypothetically. You predict when they’d peek their head, you pre-aim and shoot.]
[But he moved his aim the moment the target peeked. That can’t be right.]
[His sensitivity is around 15, no, maybe 20?]
[Considering he’s a master-ranked Paladin, the high sensitivity makes sense, but displaying this level of accuracy at that sensitivity is incredibly hard.]
[There are a few pros who use higher sensitivity, but this guy is over the top.]
After listening to them, I went through other videos.
One Time Click streamer even made this comment:
“If this guy isn’t hacking, I’ll give him 100 million won. It’s that kind of absurd gameplay.”
It was said by Demizu, a streamer famous for detecting aim-hacks.
Comments under the video mostly agreed with Demizu’s opinion.
– Haha, okay.
– The guy was pushing it a bit too far.
– Charge Knight, how did you fall so low?
Most Time Click streamers on YouTube dealt with videos discussing the suspicion that Charge Knight was using hacks.
Some were streaming live critiques, while others weren’t shy about throwing blame.
On the other hand, a few streamers took a neutral stance, acknowledging that while the gameplay was suspicious, until banned by Time Click, it was impossible to be absolutely sure.
“I’m not using hacks, though…”
My mood soured. It felt like those bullying memories from school were creeping back up like PTSD.
And just then, while those memories resurfaced, another name surfaced in my mind.
“Ahh! Inaring!”
As I remembered Inaring, I had to check her fan club’s community since I had played with her too.
I jumped into the portal.
“Yikes!”
Just as I expected, the community was on fire.
Posts demanding clarification.
Accusations flying every which way.
All of them were pointed directly at Inaring.
“Because of me…”
I caused harm to Inaring.
My beloved Oshi…
‘These… people!’
At that thought, anger surged through me to an extent that even I was startled.
‘They have no right to insult Inaring! What has she done wrong!?’
Though I still struggle to communicate openly and tend to flinch under certain pressures, I didn’t want to shrink away when my beloved Oshi is being criticized.
Not if it was my fault.
Inaring did nothing wrong.
Ding—
At that exact moment, a notification appeared—an online status on my friend list.
Inaring had logged into the game.
‘Ah!’
It was a coincidental moment when Inaring entered and initiated a private chat with me.
[Inaring]: Putting everything aside, I just have one question. Did you really use a hack?
“Ahh…”
Right at that moment, a wave of relief washed over me.
Inaring… Unlike others, you haven’t outright called me a hacker.
Of course, as a genuine fan, it’s time to pay back the faith.
[Charge Knight]: I didn’t use any hacks…
* * *
The moment she received the response, Inahi’s eyes widened.
Though his tone was a little shaky, the part where Charge Knight denied using hacks was what mattered to her.
She wanted to believe him.
[Inaring]: You’re telling the truth?
[Charge Knight]: Yes, I really didn’t use any hacks.
[Inaring]: So can you explain?
And then silence.
As nothing came through for a while, Inaring started to get anxious.
But only momentarily.
Before long…
[Charge Knight]: Yes, I can clarify.
Inahi’s eyes widened again.
It’s possible to clarify.
Typically, if it were a real hacker, they’d have run away at this juncture.
But Charge Knight even claimed he could clarify. That left no option for Inahi but to trust him.
She immediately conveyed this information to her manager, who was still on the line.
“Manager! I received a response!”
– What are they saying?
“They say they’re not a hacker and that they can clarify it.”
– Is that really true?
The manager’s voice lit up with relief.
After a brief pause, the manager spoke.
– Let’s get their contact details for a clarification broadcast. Given your position, a live camera won’t be possible, but we might manage it from our studio.
“Yes!”
Just because clarification is possible doesn’t mean we’re done here.
There are those hackers who claim innocence but then disappear.
Tension cannot ease until Inaring meets with Charge Knight face-to-face.
Without further ado, Inaring asked,
[Inaring]: Charge Knight, could you share your contact information with me?
Once again, there was silence…
This time however, the quiet dragged on longer than the last.
The longer there was silence, the more uneasy Inahi became.
‘Please, please! Please! Please!’
Just share the contact information! You said clarification is possible!
Just as she prayed repeatedly,
[Charge Knight]: 010 – XXXX – XXXX
‘He actually did it!’
The contact was actually sent!
That’s another way of saying this person truly believes they can clarify.
Without hesitation, Inahi ended the call with the manager and quickly dialed the given number.