Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Starlight Tournament Frenzy
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The Starlight Tournament, boasting the largest prize pool in history.
Word that the opening ceremony was right around the corner sparked a full-blown gamers' festival.
Even for a game two decades old, everyone had a hunch deep down that this event would deliver legendary moments for the ages.
The prize pool came to a staggering 10 billion won.
Thirty times the scale of corporate-backed tournaments, streamers dove headfirst into practice, forsaking sleep entirely.
💬 Live Chat — Viewer Holy shit, they're really going all in. S-scary... — Viewer Of course they have to go all in. That's 30 million won per person. Average annual salary for normies, right? — Viewer Yeah; plus if your uni has fewer players than others, it could top 40 million. — Viewer Dopamine rush would be insane, huh? — Viewer Rush? The players themselves will have hearts pounding. Lose this and it's straight to hell. Eighteen universities were competing.
That meant nearly 380 streamers across all of them.
And that was just the start.
Even folks who didn't care for Starcraft couldn't look away. A typical gaming tournament was a party for fans of that game alone.
But Jin-seong wasn't stopping there.
He racked his brain to pump up the event even more.
"We're running a vote this tournament. Public opinion is divine will, right? The top two universities by votes get seed rights, skipping the group qualifiers."
— Viewer Huh? — Viewer So the top two by votes get a free pass through qualifiers? — Viewer Fuck, war's breaking out. — Viewer Passing qualifiers is huge. — Viewer Duh. Drop from qualifiers and it's humiliation plus straight to the abyss. — Viewer Whoa, it's already started? JNU, led by Jin-seong—the president of the streaming world—boasted top-tier popularity.
The problem? Viewers weren't playing along with the streamers' plans.
Simple reason: they were more excited about watching their favorite streamers crash and burn.
"C'mon, bros, why you doing this? Wouldn't it be great if I made it to finals?"
— Viewer Nope, don't like it. No need. — Viewer Qualifier dropout means 80km national hike, right? — Viewer I like Jin-seong, but this time I wanna see him bomb qualifiers and do the hike. — Viewer LMAOOOOOOOO — Viewer Shit, everyone's gone dark side. — Viewer Yeah, if they'd kept promises before... At this rate, JNU—despite having the biggest fanbase—could end up dead last in votes.
Drastic measures were needed.
"Bros..."
Jin-seong, already kowtowing on stream before 100,000 viewers, dropped a bombshell. The kind of content any red-blooded fan dreams of.
"All these unis are making promises, right? If we take first, I'll book a hotel suite and throw a 【Bikini】 party with female streamers."
— Viewer ! ! ! The chat froze from the sheer impact.
Fingers lifted off keyboards as brains nonexistent suddenly crunched numbers.
Moments later...
— Viewer Call! — Viewer No cap, right? — Viewer Jin-seong, if this is a bluff, we'll IP trace and hunt you down. — Viewer Actual bikinis? All-in gamble.
This had transcended a mere gaming tournament.
Streamers' pride was on the line.
Jin-seong kowtowed repeatedly, vowing to show the humiliation of the Three Kingdoms era.
Thud! Thud!
Dull thumps echoed through the room.
Fail to crack top two, and it'd be endless roasting across communities—not to mention eternal black mark on history.
"Bikinis plus 240 hours of exposure streaming, and Marine Corps camp on top!"
— Viewer Ooh! — Viewer Marine camp too? — Viewer Extreme! Lock! Extreme! Lock! He'd finally won over the fans.
Jin-seong was convinced JNU would claim the top vote spot.
"Thanks, bros!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I tuned into Jin-seong's stream for the first time in ages after his call.
Lately, my login rates hadn't matched my Big Spender status, so I'd felt bad about slacking on donations to my supported streamers.
'Gonna have some fun today.'
New game releases plus Selig's Korea launch had me swamped.
Couldn't pay proper attention.
But this?
Pure hell party.
The nonstop chat overflowed with vitriol.
— Viewer Na! Lack! Na! Lack! What the hell was going on?
Jin-seong had been killing it lately, yet 100,000 viewers weren't satisfied.
'Bubble Gifts could divert attention for a sec, but...'
One wrong move, and that hate wave crashes on me.
"All these unis are making promises, right? If we take first, I'll book a hotel suite and throw a 【Bikini】 party with female streamers."
Holy crap, did he just say bikini party?
That's not content anyone can pull off. Not just Jin-seong wanting it—needs buy-in from the female streamers wearing them.
Promise it to viewers, they refuse? Awkward mess.
To snag top vote.
Jin-seong rolled the dice on this gamble.
"Bikinis plus 240 hours of exposure streaming, and Marine Corps camp on top!"
"!"
Over-the-top promise.
Like presidential elections.
Sweet-talk the masses, then wipe the slate clean post-win. Countless prezes have done it.
'Break it, and he'll be buried alive.'
Fierce vote wars erupted everywhere. Some streamers showered coupons to win hearts—chicken, pizza, national staples, dropping millions on viewers. Others threw massive karaoke contests, turning streams into festivals.
Those prizes had to be massive too.
'N-now's the time!'
Perfect Bubble Gifts bombing run.
With goodwill peaking, a Big Spender like me dropping huge support would max out the hype.
🎁 GIFT ALERT 🎁 [Bukppudeupppu gifted 100,000 Bubble Gifts.] [Bukppudeupppu gifted 100,000 Bubble Gifts.] [Bukppudeupppu gifted 100,000 Bubble Gifts.] [Bukppudeupppu gifted 200,000 Bubble Gifts.] Click—50 million won!
Sudden explosion of Bubble Gifts flooding chat.
Hype surging past peak, on the verge of overheating.
⭐ Top Chat — Viewer Bukppudeupppu goooooood! — Viewer Ooh, the chairman's here. Everyone, bow! — Viewer Thanks for supporting JNU, Bukppudeupppu bro! — Viewer Whoa! How much is that? — Viewer At least 50 mil. More with fees. — Viewer How loaded do you gotta be to drop 50 mil in under 10 secs? Insane... Spotting my entrance, Jin-seong bowed even deeper, like a vassal before a king.
"Brooooo! As expected, JNU only has Bukppudeupppu bro. Thank you so much!"
He looked ready to shave his head dogeza-style, so I waved him off. Too much groveling from a streamer backfires.
The hard-won goodwill could ignite again.
"I believe you'll win this tournament."
"Brooooo! I'll stake my life to bring you that trophy!"
Think I've fulfilled my Big Spender duty?
Better slip out quietly—for both our sakes.
'Something felt off earlier... what was it?'
Couldn't pinpoint why, but a corner of my heart felt empty.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The long-awaited vote results dropped.
#1 DC (67,283 votes) #2 JNU (66,805 votes) #3 YU (61,419 votes) Incredibly, JNU took second, not first.
Flipping everyone's predictions.
Margin? A razor-thin 478 votes.
DC snagged top public favor—and their seed right to bypass group qualifiers—with a killer move.
"If we win the vote, we'll host a signed merch event and photo ops for DC-loving fans."
Promise crushing bikinis; cheers erupted left and right.
— Viewer F-for real? — Viewer Pics with streamers? — Viewer Even renting out a whole restaurant? Buffet vibes too... — Viewer Too much cash? Nah, shows how bad they want it. Seeds mean favorable brackets too. — Viewer Yeah; pick weakest uni and semis are cakewalk. — Viewer Never dreamed DC over JNU. Future's unpredictable... Jin-seong's defeat—the streaming president's—shocked everyone.
He'd been grinding streams hard, donating to charity, building floating viewers. '100k diehard squad' and all.
Truth be told, the vote was tailor-made for Jin-seong.
As organizer, JNU had to advance, right?
Like World Cup hosts auto-qualifying.
Meant to build immersion with fair stakes.
No one saw DC's wild card coming.
Brilliant strategy, whoever it was.
Blasted Jin-seong's bikini ploy to smithereens.
DC's leader? Streamer 'Ppijak'.
Unlike the 17 male-led unis, DC's was female.
Claiming top spot, Ppijak struck fighting poses, hurling mockery.
"Jin-seong oppa, we'll take the Starlight Cup trophy!"
Jin-seong gnawed his lip.
That smug gesture and grin grated like hell.
"Bros, one day I'll deliver justice to that reggae bitch. Make that femcel cry blood. We'll reach finals, guaranteed."
JNU vs. DC in finals—ironic, as both had top recent form.
But.
Semis: JNU down 0-3.
Game 1 loss.
Game 2 loss.
Game 3 loss.
Best-of-nine rules meant game 4 was do-or-die for momentum. Wins build vibe.
"I'll take game 4."
JNU leader Jin-seong stepping up.
— Viewer Jin-seong fighting! Win, Jin-seong! Stay calm! Lose this and we're abyss-bound? Deep breath. Jin-seong tweaked keybinds and sensitivity, eyeing his opponent.
Park Young-woong, old pro-gamer teammate.
Recent head-to-head: 50/50.
4-4 in eight games.
"Whew..."
⚙ MATCH START ⚙ Starlight Cup Semis Game 4: Jin-seong vs. Park Young-woong! As thousands of spectators cheered...
Jin-seong steeled his gaze.
No room for loss this match.
JNU's fate rested on his hands.