The Broadcasts Are Equal, But the Teams Are Not
In some hospital examination room in the United States, a conversation was unfolding that would soon grip the entire planet.
"Doctor, I think I'm losing my mind. I keep seeing videos of people I've never seen before appearing in thin air."
"Oh, that's completely normal," the doctor replied with a calm smile. "Because I can see that same broadcast too. So can our nurses."
Social media platforms erupted with the sudden popularity of one specific dessert.
The internet war to claim the party’s outstanding Priest, Strawberry Cream Cheese Tarte, was in full swing.
< Tarte is a traditional French dessert. She clearly loves French food. Long live French cuisine! >
< The person who developed and popularized cream cheese is American. Adding cheese completely changes the flavor of food. So what she likes is a pure American fusion dessert. >
< She's a Korean who plays games in Korea, why are France and America feeling so nationalistic? >
< A blonde blue-eyed girl being Korean is just too much of a joke. Come on. >
< You're a racist, right? >
The stock prices of pastry and baking companies skyrocketed, while those of the internet broadcasting platforms plunged.
< Such an exciting broadcast is on, but why are we watching? >
< I climbed a high bridge to commit suicide but came back down because I wanted to know what happens next. >
And at that exact moment, the A team.
< Whoa, this is leveling up! >
< lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol >
< Back in the day, setting fires and clearing fields like this was normal. It reminds me of those times. >
They were using the method of igniting the forest with a fire to massacre the monsters.
Fwoosh.
The blazing inferno swallowed everything.
< Yeah, I wanted to see the world burning >
< It's so refreshing! >
< That person over there, did these people kill him? They're complete criminals! >
Beside the forest lay the corpse of a man who had once belonged to the group of young men who insisted they had to defeat the Deer God.
He had joined the A team and followed them into the forest, only to witness them setting it ablaze and report the sight to the village—before being killed by the A team.
The villagers' opinions on the matter were split: some said the Deer God must be defeated, others that it must be purified.
But their most important opinion was undoubtedly the same.
The forest, which was the villagers' foundation for survival, had to be preserved.
It was the very essence of life—trees, meat, herbs, water, fruits, seeds—that sustained humanity.
Yet now, because of the external intruders, foreign intruders, it was being burned to the ground.
"Perfect! Perfect! Perfect! Now I'm truly a pyromaniac!"
A man with distinctive red hair, wearing a robe.
His in-game nickname was Pyromaniac.
He raised his hands and summoned flames, shouting with glee.
It was clear he had just learned the flame magic for the first time and was overjoyed.
At first, when the A team had set the forest on fire, the four of them had sat side by side, using friction to spark the wood with branches. It had taken a full thirty minutes for the first flame to catch, simply because they could bring nothing from outside the Tower.
< I still need more prey to hunt >
The woman was clad in extremely short shorts that left her legs completely uncovered, a top so small it covered almost the same area, and a dagger at her waist. Her black hair cascaded down her back.
Her in-game nickname was Shadow.
She scratched the words onto the dirt floor using the branch in her hand.
No party member had paid attention to it, so only the viewers watching the broadcast had seen the message.
Some viewers felt a chill run down their spines.
The "prey" she had spoken of was none other than the dead villager lying there.
As an assassin class, she could level up and train her skills simply by killing people. She was clearly saying she wanted to kill even more now.
This place, the Tower, a virtual world that felt almost exactly like a game, had become a topic of discussion among people. Yet it was so painfully similar to reality that the people inside felt indistinguishable from real humans.
The scene of a person dying looked exactly like someone in the real world dying.
Because of this, only people with certain anti-social tendencies, those who craved stimulation, or those who had sworn to etch every single one of the A team's atrocities into their memories remained watching the broadcast.
" Burn! Burn! Burn! Hahaha! "
The Pyromaniac, a mage who specialized exclusively in setting fires, unleashed flame magic toward the forest.
His companion tried to stop him.
"Don't waste mana. The forest is already burning nicely, there's no need to expend more."
The speaker was a girl with pink hair and a slender, short body.
She wore a wedding-dress-like outfit, though far more simplified.
The pure white dress symbolized purity; the girl appeared more holy than anyone, like an angel itself.
Her in-game nickname was Miro.
She was the leader of the A team.
"What's so fun about this fire prank? It's much more enjoyable to beat a living person to death with your own hands."
The last member of the A team, a fighter whose body was far taller and more muscular than most women, muttered under her breath.
She did not like the strategy of burning the forest.
It wasn't out of conscience or cowardice or some complicated calculation.
She simply felt sorry that the opportunity to fight had been reduced.
She loved fighting.
She loved beating something to death.
She loved the moment when she could confirm, through violence, that she was stronger than others and superior.
< The school bullying Mi-To story has been trending? >
< Everyone else is using nicknames, but she used her real name? >
< Haha, so the Tower made her pretty >
Eight participants remained veiled.
Among them, the first to have their identity revealed was the A team's fighter, Chae Seorin.
It was only because she had participated in the battle using her real name.
Because her nickname and real name were the same, her true identity was exposed in an instant.
Chae Seorin, twenty-one years old.
A promising martial artist who had once won national competitions, but expelled from the sports world after being caught up in school bullying.
After that, she ran a private betting website until she was imprisoned.
She had recently been released.
During the time the forest burned and there was no one left to fight, she had been chatting with the live-stream viewers.
"Why did you beat him? Just because? If you're going to beat someone, do you need a reason? If you hate them that much, you shouldn't have been born weak."
Shwoooooosh.
Suddenly, rain began to pour from the sky.
The clouds had gathered so quickly that it was over in an instant, drenching the entire forest.
" Ah! My camp fire! "
The Pyromaniac cried out in despair.
He loved the sight of fire, but now it was gone.
The flames vanished the moment the rain arrived.
Gwooooooo.
A massive roar echoed. It was the cry of a beast.
But it was no ordinary animal sound.
It was an extremely special beast cry.
Its size, its majesty, its overwhelming pressure—far beyond anything the party had ever seen.
The four members of the A team understood in an instant.
The master of the forest, the enemy they had to defeat, the corrupted Deer God had appeared.
" If we sell the deer antlers, we'll become rich in no time? "
Chae Seorin looked at the Deer God's imposing figure and evaluated it.
According to the villagers' stories, its body was huge enough to surpass the combined strength of dozens of adult men, and its head was so high that you had to crane your neck just to see its face.
A normal person would have been too terrified to even consider fighting a lion, tiger, or even a wolf.
Yet the Deer God was far larger and more dominant than the largest elephant they had ever seen.
Nevertheless, Chae Seorin stepped forward boldly.
She was itching to fight; her body had been trembling with excitement.
It was a stark contrast to Shadow, the party's assassin, who had quietly slipped away to the back.
" You still can't win? Impossible. "
Miro, the team's leader and Priest position, declared.
" You don't know until you try. "
Chae Seorin replied confidently.
And she stepped forward.
Thud!
In just three seconds, her foot was crushed by the Deer God's hoof and she was dead.
" Aigoo, that troll. "
" Should we run? "
" Let's get out of here! "
The cry "Let's get out of here!" came from very far away.
It was Shadow, the assassin, already fleeing into the distance.
Miro, the Pyromaniac, and the others began running in different directions.
< lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol What a dumb team >
< Of course the leader is like that >
< Still, the broadcast here is the most fun >
The Deer God's roar echoed across the forest for a long time.
And then the scene returned to the B team's territory.
"This is a really important question. If we die in the Tower, does that mean we actually die in the real world?"
Tarte was bringing up an important topic to her party members.