It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

I had no choice but to acknowledge that I had harbored futile expectations, but it didn’t seem entirely my fault. There were several elements that gave the impression this was different from the old Faraday.

For one, just the fact that KoK was VR-based indicated it was a more meticulously crafted game than before. Perhaps because of this, the advertising was done much more energetically.

There were also quite a few broadcaster-friendly patches, tournaments hosted in conjunction with Tw*tch, and they even uploaded cool scenes to the official ArkTube to attract new users.

It comforted me to think that this world’s version of Faraday was a company that knew how to paddle its own canoe.

… In hindsight, most of the improvements were just in the marketing.

The balance team that had driven what was once a thriving game into utter ruin in just three years seemed to possess a willpower that defied worlds.

Gathering on R*ddit, using translators, and convincing themselves, “There’s no way the developers would enforce this patch. If they do, the game’s dead meat. There’s no way that’s going to happen!” only to be slapped in the face later. Those distant yet nostalgic memories came creeping back.

We had shouted, “This makes no sense! The game is going to die!”…and it turned out it really did make sense, and the game actually died…

Still, the chaos we caused across various communities with fellow KoK lovers was a good memory. We were quite a sizable group back then, bustling with activity. Sure…we couldn’t change much.

Almost nothing.

— ㅇㅇ has donated 1,000 won! —

『What about switching to being a variety game broadcaster since KoK is a mess? The Rogue 2 is coming out soon too.』

Lost in my memories, the sly donation message snapped me back to reality. A variety game broadcaster…it sounds nice, but isn’t that just another suggestion to quit KoK and play something else?

It would be a wise choice. The problem is, I’m not exactly a wise person. If I were, I would have probably quit long ago. At least by Season 5.

Still, if we go with the premise of quitting KoK, now might be the best time to do it, after hitting the top ranking. Isn’t this the epitome of leaving on a high note?

But.

“Hmm… I’ll think about it. But giving up right now feels a bit…it seems like I’m quitting the game just because my main character got nerfed. I’m not someone who gets sore and quits that easily.”

Not now. I can’t let people misunderstand me like that.

『That’s right…』

『When people insulted Rogues, you got sulky and banned them…』

『Anyone could see you got upset when they said Rogues were nerfed』

『You flooded the forum with complaints that no one plays Rogues』

… See? Just the possibility of a hint could lead to unfair misunderstandings among the people in the chat. I couldn’t leave like this. I had to take action before leaving.

“And also, I hope there’s no misunderstanding about this… It’s not that Rogues getting nerfed is wrong. It’s about the extent and direction… If they patch the game like this, the game will fail in an instant. I’m thinking about the well-being of KoK.”

It was better for everyone to share awareness about the issues with this patch. I captured the patch notes and displayed them on the screen, then began my explanation.

* * * *

《So, let’s start by analyzing this patch. We shouldn’t be mistaken for just complaining about the class. There’s a lot to talk about… but first, the buffs are the most annoying. Currently, it takes 5 seconds for Rogues to pick a lock on a chest. Reducing that to 4.5 seconds… What’s the point? What’s the difference?》

The voice carried more force than usual, with rare emotions embedded in it. Where had the person who seemed indifferent to everything gone? Even after reaching first place, they had only left a few cryptic words of thanks before going to sleep.

Orthodox had also watched that clip later. He thought there might be some merit in losing a single-digit rank for it.

A voice filled with pride undoubtedly had felt rewarding at the time… Unfortunately, any plan to contact her using that excuse had to be scrapped when the patch was announced.

He didn’t have a habit of sticking his hand into a burning flame.

Nonetheless, he was curious about Lee Yena’s thoughts on the patch – thus, he found himself quietly watching the broadcast in an empty practice room.

‘… I can’t be the only one.’

Given that the broadcast was for Underground players practicing 2-Underground Rogue, most of them would likely be watching. Especially if they were pro gamers or coaches.

Since their livelihoods depended on it, they had to be the most sensitive to meta changes. After witnessing the scene at the Worlds finals where the lower-ranked GP crushed V7, it was natural for research into team composition possibilities to start in earnest.

The results of such analysis didn’t need to be elaborated. Recently, both teams would face off using the 2-Underground Rogue composition as the default during scrims. What changed now was only the traits they adopted. If they wanted to face a different composition, they had to request it specifically.

Thus, it was no surprise that the name of ‘GetDevoured’—the personality who pre-designed and shared the trending combination—was increasingly mentioned among pro gamers, both domestically and in Europe.

Whether she knew she was getting such attention or not, a small ‘ㅗ’ shape appeared next to the ‘Character Enhancement’ section on Lee Yena’s broadcast screen. It soon increased to three.

《It’s annoying because the enhancements are so minor… but it’s really about perception. I’ll discuss it further later, but the balance team views the Rogue’s role as a supporter who runs around collecting items and distributing them to other classes. The Rogue isn’t supposed to be some kind of Priest.》

-User ‘ㅇㅇ’ donated 1,000 won!-

【Why beat on the Priest who’s just standing still…】

《No one’s beating on the Priest… Anyway, there’s already one Priest class. There’s no need for two support classes among the six available. Usually, there are just health potions and mana potions… I’m going to ban this person.》

With a crisp sound, one viewer disappeared from the chat, followed by several more purges.

It was indicative of the physical prowess that earned her the number one ranking. The speed at which she pinpointed and banned displeasing comments amid the rapid flow of chat was impressive.

Orthodox couldn’t have known that this scene was quite rare for Lee Yena’s broadcast. Normally, unless Ark or StarPork were monitoring, it was a room where even giant male organ-shaped ASCII art flooding the chat wouldn’t get you banned.

-User ‘Dahli’ donated 10,000 won!-

【It must be so disheartening to see your efforts to promote less popular characters result in a nerf T_T Hang in there】

-User ‘ㅇㅇ’ donated 10,000 won!-

【The game company directly targeting and nerfing QueenGetDevoured is unbelievable】

《… It’s not about being disheartened… No, it’s not really about that. I don’t think I was targeted or anything like that either. If it were Orthodox, maybe. Anyway.》

Lee Yena, as was typical, let the so-called ‘comforting’ donations from viewers concerned about the situation go in one ear and out the other, while displaying details like ‘Continuous Combat Stamina Penalty’, ‘Stealth Nerf’, ‘Inventory Nerf’, and ‘Blink Dagger Removal’ on the screen consecutively.

《Alright. Let’s continue looking at the patch notes. The core issues are quite similar. They’re patches guiding us to stop killing players and instead sneak in items to hand over to team members. Assassinate only when dealing with Priests or Mages… If you encounter a Knight or a Woodcutter, just run away.》

A faint sigh filled the soundscape.

《If they nerf stamina itself, it’ll make it hard to open chests while running, so they only nerfed it for combat. Stealth was designed for evading while looting chests, but it was too effective for assassinations, so it was cut. The limitation on relic counts obviously pushes us to distribute items more… and so on.》

《So they’re just ensuring that Rogues return to their chest-looting roles. What’s the issue… I’ll take note of this user’s IP separately. If a delivery you didn’t order arrives late at night, expect it to be from me… Anyway. The real issue is that they’re declaring they’ll cut down any build developed outside of their vision. If the forced direction was at least decent, it might be okay… but you can see they’re taking characters beloved as assassins, with an assassin concept, and pushing them in a strange direction. The patch notes even mention assassins, which makes it worse… At this rate, it won’t be long before all the users leave.》

Concluding her lengthy lecture with another small sigh, a nearly inaudible mutter was heard from Lee Yena, saying, 《Originally, it wasn’t this bad.》

It was as if she inadvertently mumbled this once she stepped away from the microphone.

For Orthodox, it was an utterly astonishing situation.

‘… Was she always this eloquent?’

He had already watched Lee Yena’s broadcasts several times. Wasn’t she known for her insistence on extremely brief communication? He had thought today’s broadcast would surely begin with something like, ‘I’ve put up a national petition for the death penalty of Faraday’s CEO. Everyone, go to this link and click agree.’

If Lee Yena had heard this presumption, she might have quietly averted her gaze for a moment before replying, ‘That’s unfair’.

-Clap!

《Alright. I believe you all understand why this is an issue… Shall we devise some countermeasures? Using the power of collective intelligence.》

Drawing the viewers’ attention with the sound of clapping, Lee Yena began to appreciate the ideas that poured in through chats and donations.

Accompanied by a continuous series of ‘hmm-hmms’, she did so diligently.

-『Username』 has donated 1,000 won!-

【In that case, let’s achieve first place with a warrior! Let’s see them nerf a warrior too!】

《… Why are you here? We are in the middle of a serious emergency meeting, so please sell your firewood later.》

Of course, she dismissed most of the ideas-

-『Username』 has donated 1,000 won!-

【A good smack from a truck will bring them to their senses. We could gather the truck fund in an hour.】

《… A truck… They wouldn’t even bat an eye. It’s shocking at first, but there have already been many instances of it.》

-『Username』 has donated 1,000 won!-

【Let’s all protest by playing as rogues at the same time! When 20 million GetDevoured viewers across the country gather, they won’t be able to ignore it!】

《… I’ll ban this concept too. Going forward. But…hmm. Protests are a good idea. They’ve been effective.》

In the end, she arrived at a conclusion no one had foreseen.

《Then, let’s protest. Not online. In real life. Now, where was the Faraday Korean branch office again?》