Chapter 29

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: penny

Chapter: 29

Chapter Title: Action & Fighter Is Murder to Me (2)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

‘Hmm.’

The broadcast began, and Ox greeted the viewers with his smooth eloquence, outlining the content of the stream.

I’d only heard about it myself yesterday morning, but apparently, Ox was one of the three major ambassadors for Action & Fighter that had been teased for a while now.

That was surely the real reason behind planning this content.

[Everyone ready? Then, without further ado, let’s get started.]

Emperor Deciding Battle.

A top-tier showdown where twelve guests compete based on three key elements: who’s the best at Action & Fighter, who can spread its appeal the widest, and who can prove the deepest love for the game.

Among them were famous streamers and named players, as well as recluses like me.

It was part of a campaign to generate maximum buzz amid the ongoing three-way battle for dominance in Korea’s RPG market.

[First up, appeal time! Come on out, first participant!]

The participants began appearing one by one with brief introductions, and I was dead last, number twelve.

Truth be told, the typical appeals were all much of a muchness, and by around the sixth, you could already see the ideas running dry.

It felt like you could almost hear the later participants racking their brains from here.

[Alright, the final participant! The mysterious recluse master we barely managed to invite for this content, V. He’s shown such overflowing confidence by bringing a brand-new account just to be judged purely on skill. Let’s take a look right away!]

With the two before me having flopped their appeals pretty hard, the vibe wasn’t exactly buzzing with interest.

But that was just the realm of mortals. It was time to make it crystal clear here that my level—as Action & Fighter’s ancient fossil and living legend—dwarfed theirs.

[What in the world is this?! What’s going on? Twelfth participant! Things are off to a wild start!]

As Ox switched screens, my character lounging on the ornate throne in a lavish palace filled the broadcast window.

A spot normally occupied by the NPC Princess Elixia, inaccessible to players by design.

From there, I casually greeted the viewers.

- Hi there

The reaction was explosive, of course. Right out the gate, some insane player pulling off an unheard-of bug.

This had all been cleared with Ox and the devs in advance—the bugs I’d use today were fully reported and submitted ahead of time.

They’d probably all get patched tomorrow after today’s finale.

A quick peek at the Action & Fighter Gallery confirmed it—the users there were hooked on my entrance too.

Mm-hmm, yeah, that’s exactly the reaction I wanted.

Today, I planned to school these cute little stale-mates on what a real skill gap looks like.

[Y... yeah, what a shocking debut. We’ve already coordinated with the devs on the bugs, and all materials are submitted... Honestly, I never imagined seeing something like this. Anyway, that was V!]

With Ox’s seamless hosting, the first category kicked off—simple stuff.

Who’s the best at Action & Fighter?

A straight-up skill showdown via Sky Arena’s challenge mode and tournament-style PvP.

‘Hmm.’

Sky Arena, the challenge content beloved by me and the few hipster fossils who’d stuck with Action & Fighter over the long haul.

So outdated that nobody’s played it as much as me—honestly, isn’t this a bit unfair...?

The challenge’s 1st and 3rd place holders were competing here, but no sweat. I’d already beaten their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠records in training mode, where scores don’t stick.

[Huh? Is this right? What’s going on? What is this!]

Challenge master Kang Min, who’d lapped the field, and top-ranked pro Asura Patchan.

Hellbringer dominated Sky Arena records, so most challengers went with it—but I proudly picked the fringe job Dollmaster and smashed theirs by 1.03 seconds.

- Kangminbringer: ??

- AsuraPatchan: Huh?

1 second might sound small, but in challenge mode, it’s a meta-shattering chasm.

While they were dumbfounded, I hit them with a victory bunny emote, then nipped viewer suspicions in the bud.

- No bugs in challenge, pure skill~

- It’s legit

Ox, catching on, replayed it for the participants to inspect my build. After a brief review, they confirmed it was clean.

With challenge 1st locked in, PvP—the second content—began.

[Ddaengbul, how you feeling? Confident in PvP?]

[Yeah, well... if I dodge a bad handicap draw, I think I got it~]

PvP had big skill gaps among participants, so to amp the thrill, random handicaps were assigned—especially for Awakeners and top rankers.

And me? Not a ranker, but I voluntarily took one too.

[All Commands Banned]

‘...’

The second I drew it, the chat exploded with “we’re doomed” and “game over,” laughter flooding the window.

But I was fine. I was a true street fighter who’d gold-farmed with full-command-locked gear in the extremes.

I set commands quick, strode into the duel arena confidently, and crushed opponents en route to finals with devastating beatdowns.

Finally smashing season 17 #1 ranker Ddaengbul sent chat dead silent, then erupting in shock.

‘Heh.’

Late to mention, but I’d topped the duel rankings multiple times in past seasons.

Especially seasons 12 and 13 with duel gold-farming metas—I ended 1st and 2nd, building quite the rep.

- Ddaengbul: Sigh... I messed up too much

- Ddaengbul: GG~

If you’re asking if my post-Awakening body buffs helped? Not entirely wrong.

My cognition and reactions clearly transcended my old limits, giving a definite edge.

- GG

But at the absolute peak? It changes the story big time.

If that were all, how’d I hold #1 pre-Awakening?

Current #1 Ddaengbul’s an Awakener too—he’s said so himself. Nuff said.

[Whoa... incredible. And so the twelfth participant, mysterious recluse V, claims the first trophy!]

I’d dominated the “best at Action & Fighter” category perfectly, but shady vibes started creeping into chat.

Checks revealed claims of bugs in my challenge build, analysis posts demanding verification.

As agitated viewers piled on with floods, Ox looked troubled, postponing interviews to investigate.

[Uh... We reviewed the replay and saw no issues, but we’ll double-check. No sense ending on a sour note.]

I scanned the gallery post too—no issues however many times I looked.

Cancels? Everyone does that. Gimmicks? Challenge rankers all acknowledge them.

But some mystery whale dropped massive cash, maliciously hyping the “doubts.” Ox struggled with the sheer amount.

- Kinda iffy tbh

- Just ban him clean and move on

- Ox recruited him himself, why the shield? If it’s bad, it’s bad

- Ox you skipping or what

- Ugh this dragging’s annoying af, stop sucking up to bug user and boot him;

Not an incomprehensible reaction, really.

Viewers don’t care about truth—they just hate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠broadcast hiccups sparking irritation.

But what about me, the actual victim?

‘Hmm.’

Backlash intensified; Ox defended me hard but seemed weighed down by his ambassador role.

I calmly typed logical counters, but the whale stirred the mob, nitpicking me every time.

‘God, this is infuriating.’

That’s streaming for ya. Throw enough cash, and lies become truth.

Viewers probably less convinced by his logic, more just wanting closure.

The grill was white-hot now—someone had to go on it.

Luckily, I’d joined with a fresh throwaway account. As long as Temu Mountain Sword God stayed mum, no one’d sniff my identity.

Temu Mountain Sword God—the one who roped me into this—was uneasy and venting on my behalf.

But it was cool. I’d already decided, and I had zero intention of forgiving that sleazy traitor slinging cash like a bootlicker.

Daring to challenge the 21st-century Pharaoh? The sun god’s iron heel shall smite the blasphemer.

Mic set at light speed, I joined Ox’s participant voice channel.