It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

Soft sunlight. Cool air that wasn’t cold. And the white noise created by the humming computer-

It was a rare morning without a hangover.

“Ah……”

The first impression was an overall muscle ache. Was I destined to suffer pain every morning? The costs didn’t seem worth the trade-off of avoiding a hangover.

… Though the truth was, I had brought both the hangover and the muscle ache upon myself. I lightly massaged my throbbing limbs as I moved toward the computer.

– Tap, tap.

“Ah. Can you hear me?”

The chat room was relatively quiet. Despite there being over 2,000 people… it seemed many were asleep. Well, it had been until 4 AM after all. It wouldn’t be surprising if people fell asleep while watching.

Thinking that, I felt like yelling out a loud noise… But that might be troublesome. It wasn’t like I lived in a detached house.

Hmm…

In that case, maybe making a strange sound would be fine.

『Daddy’s not sleeping』

『Sounds like I just woke up mmm』

『Are you going to hit the road right away』

『Didn’t this guy go to sleep 4 hours ago?』

『She really came back lmao』

『I was really worried he’d take a break from broadcasting』

Maybe I had pondered too long. While I was caught in my thoughts, the chat had already come back to life. It was a small sound, but it seemed many people were light sleepers.

I quietly reorganized the plans I had been carefully forming in my head. If everyone was already awake… there was no point. Hopefully, there would be another chance. Soon.

“Did everyone sleep well? I just woke up and… I feel like I’m dying. VR really isn’t my thing.”

-ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 won!-

【Who the heck does VR for 6 hours……】

“… You lack perseverance.”

Who plays games for just an hour or two?

Anyway, what to do today? I planned to keep hiking but- my body was sore. Still, I had heard that such muscle aches were best relieved by continuing with the same exercise.

Let’s contemplate while getting ready.

“Then, I’ll take a shower and bring some breakfast. Please wait a moment.”

.

.

.

As soon as she stepped out into the room still filled with cold air, steam rose from Lee Yena’s body, which had been warmed by a hot shower. Though she liked the warm water, the contrast with the cold air was pleasant too.

Her wet hair, hanging like seaweed and touching her back, would have been better if it weren’t so bothersome. Her hair… it had grown quite long. Maybe it was time for a trim, she pondered while looking in the mirror with a hairdryer in hand.

It wasn’t the first time she considered this. Long hair was overwhelmingly cumbersome, and she always fell into such thoughts when she had to wash or dry it.

Holding the hairdryer with one hand and browsing nearby hair salons with the other, she eventually put down her phone, as she always did. It had become almost a routine whenever she had to wash her hair.

The difference was that initially, she feared damaging it, but now she hesitated simply because she thought long hair suited her quite well.

… Should she eat breakfast?

She scooped out the center of a slice of toast, took an egg from the refrigerator, cracked it into the hollowed-out section, poked it lightly with a fork, and then put it in the microwave.

There was no reason to fight over preparing breakfast, as one minute was enough to make a simple meal.

If anyone complained that toast alone was insufficient, she could add some frozen vegetables and a couple of bacon strips fried in a pan, serve it on a plate, and brew a cup of coffee for a Western-style full-course breakfast. Though it was more preparation than cooking, what could she do about the cultural difference?

Pairing it with a peeled apple might even earn her the title of the ideal bride.

-Ding!

Of course, the narrative did not apply to someone eating alone.

Alone…

“Ah, is everyone here?”

Though it felt a bit ambiguous to say so.

* * * *

-ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 won!-

【How many drifts are we taking today, teacher】

The mocking voice of an old man echoed. Usually, the broadcaster, who would murmur about ‘unjust accusations’ or ‘being wronged’, remained quietly silent.

Naturally. The previous night’s broadcast had been filled with such sudden turns that rebuttals would have been moot.

Starting the broadcast with an overly excited voice giving bizarre lectures, abruptly falling into gloom, and then, filled with resolve, concentrating passionately on solo rank driving in VR, causing viewers to feel dizzy, was not a rare occurrence.

In fact, she had barely played the role of a rogue. The most frequent scene in yesterday’s broadcast, labeled as a revival of the Rogue Revival Movement, had been a rogue getting crushed by a greatsword.

“You can’t win that way.”

With advice laced with what could be interpreted as affection.

Of course, it was hard to find anyone who had complaints.

In truth, this was the very scenario the viewers tuning into Lee Yena’s broadcast mostly wanted to see. A thrilling massacre by the great sword knight, spiced up here and there with the skillful interventions of a rogue. It was the combination everyone had been clamoring for her to use.

While having a large cam screen in the bottom right corner would have been perfect –

Long-time viewers of GetDevoured’s streams knew well enough that being too greedy would lead to disappointment. The reason why the initially ecstatic viewers grew more anxious as the broadcast continued.

Even though she was delivering the content they all had been asking for, the dominant reaction was one of people speculating how many days of no streams she planned to take off, almost wondering if she intended to retire altogether. This was a consequence of the broadcaster’s past actions.

This anxiety reached its peak when she disappeared after saying, “I’m going to… just take a little nap.”

This was a typical endless broadcast without the official declaration of one.

Even when she did declare an endless broadcast, viewers were skeptical about whether she would indeed return. Someone even donated wondering if she would leave the broadcast running for a week, an idea not entirely dismissed by the audience.

Of course, this was partly due to the broadcaster herself musing, “Oh, that’s a way…”

Therefore, the fact she actually came back after the nap shocked everyone. The viewers, who were prepared for any kind of mischief, were genuinely taken aback when she returned as she had said.

“What are you eating… It’s a baguette topped with caviar and Philadelphia cream cheese. The donations for the Rogue Revival Movement also go towards supporting the livelihoods of the administration.”

– ‘Caviar ㄷㄷㄷ’

– ‘Glad I donated, I’m fine with my delicious triangle kimbap, GetDevoured Devoured.’

– ‘Starting the nonsense again?’

– ‘Should’ve saved the money for the electricity bill, it’s hard to eat cold bread’

– ‘Do a mukbang’

– ‘Upload a photo!!!’

-CRUNCH

Sounds of someone eating were heard. Although it was never her intention, Lee Yena’s broadcast was catering to those always clamoring for ASMR.

However, for people demanding 24/7 eating shows, it was just a tease.

“Photos… just a moment.”

Saying so, Lee Yena switched the screen and uploaded a picture of caviar found on a search engine.

“This is what it looks like. Interesting, isn’t it? They say it gets delivered in a cooler.”

– ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won! –

【While you said you’re eating…】

“You can find it interesting while eating it. Haven’t you ever had that kind of moment? When you take a big spoonful of sundae soup, with the spicy red pepper paste, meaty broth, pre-mixed rice, and head meat creating the perfect combination… It’s a moment worth marveling at.”

With that, she typed “sundae soup” into the search engine, filling the screen with various images of the dish.

“I haven’t eaten it much lately… but it’s nice to see it. It’s comforting. Shall we call this our cure for today’s spice craving?”

In the bottom-right corner, at the spot where the minimap should appear, a picture of a bubbling hot bowl of sundae gukbap popped up—

“Still tired… I’ll start with some keyboard and mouse and then switch to VR. Why am I suddenly being kind and explaining things… There seems to be a misunderstanding. I’ve always made kindness and customer satisfaction my top priority. Um, please keep the harsh insults short. The chat isn’t a place for just one person. It’s troublesome to say such things in a public space.”

With the hearth stoked, the climb began anew.

* * * *

The End of the World.

Becoming sensitive over each match wasn’t just something for lower tiers. In fact, the most sensitive were often the Challengers who had no higher tiers left to climb.

It’s not like the rankings would change forever.

Whether their ID could be engraved in any meaningful numbers like the top 100 or top 10 held immense importance for gamers. Especially for those who were serious enough to be within the top 0.01%.

Thus, it was only natural that Challengers were the most responsive to the meta. They experimented using their secondary accounts, of course. However, the hottest topic among the Challenger tier recently had been the Rogue.

With 31 hours remaining in the season, the most heated subject was the tank barreling through everything from the bottom. The optimal Rogue build no longer mattered. Should they queue up, believing they could avoid it?

Should they wait and endure until the natural disaster blew over?

Or maybe, should they hope to be on the same team?

This was the dilemma of any Challenger playing around the 400th rank. For a very brief moment.

Soon, it became the dilemma for those in the 300s, and eventually, even the users in the 200s, who initially thought, “It couldn’t reach here, could it?”

It was the zone where the proportion of professional gamers surged. Simultaneously, it was also filled with those longing to enter the top 100 before the season ended.

However, a typhoon was equally destructive to everyone.

“Hmm… Shall we switch to VR now? Keyboard and mouse do have their limits. I hadn’t thought about it before VR. This feels like black magic or something… Achieving better performance at the cost of physical strain. Maybe banning it completely is the right answer.”

Despite the significant disadvantage of using a keyboard and mouse compared to VR, Lee Yena was about to break into the top 100.

『GP Bio: I’m a fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!』

『GP Bio: Can we please see GetDevoured and the Shield Knight farmer just once』

『GP Bio: Will it be possible』

『GetDevoured: Ah…』

『GetDevoured: Thank you』

『GetDevoured: I like you too, Bio』

『GetDevoured: I’d love to duo, but』

『GetDevoured: It’s a shame I need to climb solo』

It was a peak that would soon be conquered.