Proof (3)
“Why is Valeta a bug right now?”
“Some King of Fist users just joined the stream, but anyone who's played knows Valeta is total trash this time around. Compared to 4, her damage in 5 is garbage-tier, so you're better off picking the new character Dave with the same boxing base. Everyone agrees, right? Admit it. You agree? No?”
A few chats grating on my nerves popped up amid the rapidly scrolling messages, so I called one out.
“PlasterMan? PlasterMan, sir? You're saying 4 wasn't that broken? Do you know that 4's balance was so wrecked everyone was broken? Anyone could land a combo and melt the opponent. That's why the game tanked. Sure, I'll admit Valeta and a few others could kill what survived basic combos. But nerfing her this hard in 5? No way.”
Who knew there were so many Valeta haters. Your turn next.
“Zeus98, who just said everything got nerfed so it's fair now? I don't want much. Just revert her to 3 levels at least. What defined Valeta up to 3? Female char with male hitbox and mid-tier male power, right? Then 4 strips all that and turns her into a dead meta pick, but if you're bringing back the old system, make her old strong at least. With a boxing base where kicks come out as punches and short-range infighter range, her damage needs to be good, no?”
Maybe because of her too-strong image in 4, the harsh nerf in 5 had me heated up. But as the internet saying goes, if Valeta was the top tier, she'd have the most tournament wins too. Records show even in that 'broken' 4, Valeta wins were rare.
“Alright, alright. Don't get too heated. Calm down. Relax.”
My friend snickered at me wasting energy on chat, so I shot him a glare and took a deep breath.
Whoosh.
I'd poured so much energy into it that the game had started without me, and I'd gotten my ass handed to me by the CPU in round 1. No deep King of Fist fans around, so the only place for these talks was the community, and chatting about it got me way too excited.
“Alright, round 2 starting. Whoa~ Even with a break, the muscle memory's still there.”
As soon as round 2 kicked off, I backed off to check my keys, then warmed up properly. Thankfully, the feel wasn't much different from before, so I relaxed. The joystick was different from my home one, so it felt off at first, but with my arcade rat days, I adapted quick. From national combos to high-difficulty ones, everything flowed smooth. Guess that's why it was a holy site for old fighters—well maintained.
“Threay clears up to the boss effortlessly. CPU crush done easy.”
A few started showing respect after the quick boss clear.
“Alright, hands warmed up. Time for online matches. Gyeong-guk only plays on PC, so I made her a card today. Forgive the zero record.”
“Yeah, home proof would've sparked drama anyway, so we came out. Chats are asking how to prove it—plenty of King of Fist viewers watching, right? High ranks, maybe even pros?”
“You all guessed it. Yeah. High ranks watching? Wanna face Threay offline? Come to TT. We'll keep online queuing here, so CPU on! Oh, face cam's on, so only if you're cool with exposure!”
I'd doubted how a zero-record newbie would prove offline at first, but damn, that guy's a streaming fanatic.
Win streak today: Take it all!
1,000,000 KRW
“Whoa, mission in! Thanks... wait! Isn't this too safe a bet?”
Unlike regular donations, this was a viewer mission—success-only payout. Hard to celebrate the content. Even against pros, a win streak was tough. Online, even nonames beat me sometimes; high difficulty. Viewers knew, piling on missions big and small till it blew past 2 mil in a blink.
“No choice now. Gyeong-guk! You're my only hope!”
“Don't count on me.”
“Nah, you got this.”
I shook off his hand gripping mine with that earnest-or-streamer? face and averted my eyes.
“Ah, first match while talking!”
Perfect timing—matched. Opponent: Japanese, 401-329 record. Char: Tsukina Reiga, series protag. Never weak, basic everyone must master, black flames. Most popular ever. But food for me.
“Ah! Threay perfects 3-0.”
Online monsters over 1k wins everywhere, so that record's no scare. Man, hands feeling godly today? Never this sticky before. Reactions crisp, combos flawless. Beyond gear/condition—maybe this new body? But streak first, ponder later.
“Over 800-win Japanese pro crushed! 13-win streak already!”
Chats hyped on my flashy aggression, friend beaming at the stream's success, and suddenly a crowd around us. Weekday daytime empty arcade now buzzing—from Yoon's hype or stream viewers? Gasps amid the growing throng.
Aaah... this is TT's old fighter glory. First visit for me today, just old vids/internet lore.
“Crowd's here—anyone wanna step up?”
Yoon scanned the guys; I paused my game and turned.
“Gasp.”
“Ooooh.”
Eyes widened, gasps at my looks, then a skinny two-block glasses guy raised his hand.
“Ah, you with the hand—civilian?”
“Yes.”
“King of Fist rank?”
“Black.”
“Ooh, Black's solid. Met Threay online?”
“A few times, all losses. Here for revenge and to confirm it's really them.”
“Ooh, let's go then.”
Black tier—high rank. Ranks: Rainbow top, Gold, Black. Pros cluster Black-Rainbow; brag-worthy. Fresh Black (water Black) might gap, but better than arcade randos today.
“Ah! Where's the revenge guy?! Ends without a fight!”
Way too easy. Expected more, ended anticlimactic—even I was shocked. Rematch in case nerves? Same result. More challengers after, none past 4 rounds.
Whoa. Missed grinding, but mission pot hit near 6 mil past 5. Legend.