Tournament?! (1)
I finally got a good night's sleep after ages. The moment I woke up, I checked Discord first. Not because I'm wondering if the hamburger and pizza from Raming arrived... no way! Absolutely not! Raming's got her own schedule too...! I just turned it on to check messages. It's not like I love burgers and pizza or anything. I've got money. Plenty of money. I can order some anytime. Like, right now, fire up the delivery app and get it. But... there's something called sincerity, right? A gift from a friend. How romantic is that? I just wanna bask in that romance... no real craving for food or anything.
"Whoa..."
No way...! They're insane. The hamburger and pizza actually arrived. Sending them so promptly...!! My heart's burning now too. I log into the cafe and... send out Jjang Burger sets—large sizes, of course!—to 10 people super quick. Friends are the best. Thanks to my friends, I kicked my lazy butt into gear myself.
"Ehehe. Enjoy~..." I even typed that last one out manually instead of copy-paste. Felt so proud after hitting send. See? I can move fast too!! I always put off homework till the end and never do it, but diligent friends got me sorted right away.
"Phew...! All done."
Is this what finishing homework feels like? So satisfying. Argh... shoulda done some back in the day. It's that good. Ehehe. Anyway, homework done! Next, to enjoy Raming's hamburger set, I wash up and head out. Lucky there's a burger joint nearby. Grabbed one and came home. Devoured it deliciously, chilled a bit, then checked messages again.
"Hmm..."
Nothing but work stuff from the flat editor. Next, the cafe... that chat I posted yesterday went up. Even hit popular post. Skimmed the comments...
Praise everywhere...! Ehehe. Did I do good? Woohee!! I savored the comments, puffing up my shoulders so much they were closer to the sky than the ground. Gotta brag on stream ASAP. Was about to start up when—ding. Sudden Discord ping. From the flat editor.
No time to think, phone rings from her right away. No way... bad news? What do I do? I gulp down my worry-spit and pick up.
"Hello? Sena. Sena. Got an ad offer... a tournament ad. Wanna do it?"
"Tournament?"
Out of nowhere, total panic. Tournament? Disaster waiting. I'd get killed by hate comments. No way in hell...
"Yeah. Some FPS game... ad-cum-tournament, they said."
"I... can't... I'll pass."
FPS? Hell no. I've tried so hard. Watched YouTube, learned from top streamers in the rankings. Still no improvement. I'm just bad. Games I excel at? Pour in time, pour in cash, no skill needed—just grind honestly and you grow. Anything else... tough for me.
"Got it."
"But... what's the game?"
"Wild Hunter, apparently."
"What kinda game?"
"Dunno much... FPS with skills... flying around... new release, I guess?"
"Even... more no."
Saying that, I YouTube it quick. New hyper first-person FPS. Super fast-paced, fun they say. Watched a clip... whoa. Dizzying. So dizzy. Scenes flipping so fast, eyes can't keep up.
"Can't do this game..."
"Okay! I'll tell 'em that."
"Yeah..."
Self-awareness is key. Force it and just get flamed, turn into a villain. But... disappointing. If it was RPG with heavy spending contest, I'd jump in. But no boss rush. Hate that. Just straight cash spam. Borrow from parents and whale hard. That kinda tournament... perfect.
"Streaming today?"
"Duh!"
"Fighting! I'm off."
"Yessir!! Editing fighting!"
"Thanks."
Smacking my lips, end call. Honestly... tournament's like daydreaming about nailing a song at talent show as a student. Up on stage, belting it out, crowd cheers... super play in tourney, everyone applauds. Regretful. So regretful.
"Oh! Don't mention this on stream! Promise!!"
"What if I do?"
"Disaster? They said keep secret. No leaks. Absolute secrecy. Please."
"Then... won't say."
"Huh?"
"N-nothing! Got it!! I'll try!!"
Sudden curse of knowledge. If someone suddenly mentions Wild Hunter... suspect tourney entry? Doubt demon creeps into my head.
"Yup! Off I go! Fighting today!!"
She hangs up. I stare blankly at monitor. Shoulda joined? But it'd be disaster. I know my level. No confidence. Still, lingering regret. Try anyway? Eat the hate? Rejected but regret thick. Maybe hidden talent, super play? Tourney screams: "Big Sena!!! Super play!!" Lifetime treasure. Ugh... I've "grown" dozens of times. Different this time? Maybe. Ugh. Real talk. Ah, hm.
Ring ring ring. Ring ring ring.
"Hello? What's wrong?"
"Can... we hold off?"
"Hold?"
"Try once... see if doable... then decide?"
"Ah~ Got it. I'll ask."
"Thanks...!"
Let's try. Don't judge by YouTube! Might be good. Happiness circuit spins. Possible... possible. I'm grown Sena! Not weak old me. Version up 10 levels.
"Do it!!"
"Fighting! Rooting for ya! You got this!"
"Thanks!! Editor, I'll give it a shot!"
"Yup! Off~"
Wild whatsit... oh. Not free? 79,000 won? Joke? Mood crashes. Treat me like this? New release, make it free!
Purchase screen up, eyes shut, click buy. Peek—
"Ugh, bought...!"
Okay, try. Just try. Good. Log in hopeful. Hate it? Refund in 2 hours. Yeah. Refunds exist. But streamers refund...? Dunno... anyway, go...!!
"Nickname...?"
SeonJjangJjang, duh. Lucky, available. Origin: Seon + Jjang = SeonJjang. Emphasize again: SeonJjangJjang. Forgot why... anyway, assembled from parts: 'SeonJjangJjang'. High school nick, ancient.
Tutorial starts. Basic: WASD move, mouse shoot, QE/Shift shoot, space jump. Predictable. Know it. But tutorial character's cool. Sniper rifle vibe. Sharp eyes, cool voice... sniper too. Finish cool sis tutorial, hunt her down. Name: Radi. Sniper, 5/5 difficulty.
"Sorry..."
No sis. Hunt 1-star... what? Cannon psycho. Fairy concept, tiny. But... leaning on body-sized cannon, arms crossed. Hypnotized, hit play. Q: map up. Click anywhere, fairy lights cannon fuse. Fizzle crackle, BOOM! Fires. E reloads after. This. This!!
OP no-brain char...!! Like arty in tank games. Insane...! God game!! FPS with healer-beating cheese...!!
"Th-this...! This is it."
Jump normal match. Simple rules: 6v6, capture center point... hold to win. Map huge visually. This size for 6v6? I'd do 15v15... cannon me at disadvantage. Who'd I hit!!
But played fine. Decent size. Fight spots fixed, fast tempo—cannon hits sneaky good. Doable? One more round then stream...
Playing normal, bottom right: Moteok entered Wild Hunter.
Zombie game friend add... this? Cautious DM.
Uh... play? Refund in 2 hours... hmm... Hands on keys, eyes shut. Follow heart not head. Type, enter, slow open.
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[Side Story]
Christmas Eve. To celebrate, Sena prepped something huge. Hyped from eve.
"Guys, get hyped! Massive thing incoming. You'll freak! Ehehe. Come tomorrow. Must-see!!"
Super confident. Worked hard for viewers.
"Tons prepped, so come!!"
Ends stream. Viewers hype in cafe all night. How big...? Some sleepless with hype.
Stream day. Title: [Christmas Special Cosplay!! Reveal!!]
Black screen, but title draws cheers.
"C-can you hear me?"
Sena's voice. Still black screen. Longer black, higher hype.
"Showing now!! Ta-da!!"
Black gone. Sena appears.
"Christmas cosplay!!"
Sena's head: a tree.
Way off sexy Santa... melancholic Santa... lewd Santa... Just weird tree-headed Sena.
"No..."
Sena hits key. Tree orbs sparkle rainbow.
"Prepared this too..."
Sena wanted: Kyaa~ cute. Tree? Sense! Lights cool!
"Eh, not this? Then what?"
Key hit. Star blinks yellow.
"Santa? Whoa... didn't know."
Key hit. Tree blazes Christmas bright.
No praise, Sena sulks at viewers.
"Anyway, Merry Christmas."
