Chapter 12

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 12

Chapter Title: New Dopamine

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The viewers watching the broadcast were left puzzled.

Normally, Hean would have explained what just happened, even roughly, for the sake of her audience and kept the stream going.

But Hean herself was too distracted by Third Life to interact with the viewers.

Especially Hean.

'I want to go another round...'

She was pouring all her focus into typing that desperate plea into the chat.

It would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have been better if she could have used voice chat.

But the other player had voice completely disabled, so chat was the only option.

In her heart, she wanted to keep going for as many rounds as possible.

The competitive fire that any Hunter would have was fully lit.

As a former Hunter herself, Hean wanted to keep up this thrilling PVP with this mysterious player until she collapsed from exhaustion.

She wanted to witness that skill over and over...

"Ah."

She'd been kicked.

Damn...

Crunch.

Mm, french fries dipped in pepper, salt, and ketchup are the best, as expected.

Potato chips are great and all, but eating them too often makes them lose their appeal.

So every now and then, you need something like this.

Though I should hold off on eating inside the game pod.

While committing the heresy of picking up my french fries ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with chopsticks instead of fingers, I checked the game window.

Hean.

Why does this girl keep sending friend requests?

I couldn't bring myself to suggest a 1-million-won bet to her.

It's not like I thought she was too polite to be the one who called me a cheater or anything... nah.

It's just because she's a streamer.

With viewers watching, gambling could get her in trouble.

What if someone reports her?

So if she wants a duel, turn off the stream first.

Why's she been streaming the whole time?

'Well... her skills were the best among the trash, at least.'

Hean was one of the streamers who'd occasionally drop advice on Yura's channel when she was resting.

I remembered she streamed a completely different style from Yura.

PVP specialist.

So I accepted the duel to check her out, and sure enough.

She lived up to expectations.

She showed a level of skill worlds apart from the two I'd crushed before.

And it wasn't just talk.

If she'd fought those two, she'd win a hundred out of a hundred times.

A thousand fights might be debatable, but a hundred? He'd win every one for sure.

The skill gap between the three was that vast.

But against me? No dice.

If she was going to face me head-on, she should've brought a long-range healer build instead of a sniper one.

Or gone full mage build.

Then she might've lasted a bit longer.

Long-range was right, but sniper was a miss.

In scoring terms, Hean had barely scraped a passing grade.

Why sniper's wrong is simple.

The attack trajectory is too obvious.

Noobs might fall for it blindly, but anyone 1.5 times stronger than Hean could dodge easily.

In other words, a sniper mage build is the classic strong-vs-weak, weak-vs-strong type.

That's why most Hunters and Heroes don't use it.

Against the strong, it crumples instantly.

If it was OP, I'd be using it myself from the start.

I don't use it for good reason.

'Back in the day, guns never became mainstream like swords or arrows because their attack paths were too predictable.'

Even after guns were invented, swords and arrows dominated for a reason.

'Hmm... I should give her some advice next time I get the chance.'

I jotted it down in my notepad.

Then I checked the current spectator count.

Even more than before.

'Just one or two more, then log off.'

Maybe because it had been a while since my last duel.

It was honestly fun, even if they weren't great.

After Hean got kicked, Third Life dueled two more players.

Having seen the fight with Hean, only those with real confidence in their skills dared to challenge.

The spectators cheered their efforts, but sadly, no popcorn-worthy battles ensued... just chip-munching levels.

Both challengers were obliterated quickly.

The skill gap was that overwhelming.

"Gah...!"

Yura, who'd snuck in on a sub-account, froze but passed the crisis in silence.

Usually, staying quiet gets you through half the time.

'Did he notice? Nah, just suspicion. I changed my name and class.'

She'd even secretly leveled up to 22 before joining.

No way she'd get caught.

And her helmet customization hid her face completely.

Staying silent, no further comments came.

She wasn't playing her usual mage but a swordsman, so the control style was totally different. No way he'd recognize her.

Yura was betting everything on that.

Normally, she'd be right.

Mage and swordsman playstyles are worlds apart.

But there was one thing Yura didn't know.

Talent can't be hidden.

Her movements and staffwork were too similar to Yura's, so Third Life suspected it might be her, but what was the point in calling her out?

He didn't pry.

Lucky for Yura.

"Phew... close one."

Yura let out a sigh of relief.

And with that, the custom match ended.

After a while.

Did that non-explanation work?

The community sentiment started shifting.

The tide was turning mostly positive.

Public opinion is like reeds in the wind—it flares up wherever the spark catches.

It heads one way, but if someone yells, "Hey, let's try that direction!" it shifts.

That's both its strength and weakness.

Who the hell is this guy? Why's Third Life so good?

Seriously, what is he?

Not everyone can agree on one thing.

Opinions splinter.

Some say "this way!" Others say "that way!"

The old mainstream opinion was barely hanging on.

With the shift, the opposition rallied harder.

The so-called contrarian faction.

They pooled their strength and flared up spectacularly.

The community split along those lines.

One side: "Not a cheater! Pure skill!"

The other: "So what? That doesn't explain the hacks!"

They clashed without bridging the gap.

Then, the fight took an unexpected turn.

Game devs dropped the official word...! "After reviewing the reported player, no hacks were found.

We hope you continue enjoying our game. Have a great afternoon." Not hacks???

The game company's official statement dropped.

The signal flare ending the war.

Irrefutable proof.

Half the community became losers overnight.

The winners raised their glasses... then remembered the one who should've drunk alone.

Meanwhile.

Me, the culprit behind all this.

"Getting kinda boring."

The dopamine spike crashed, leaving me bored as I looked elsewhere.

It's nice having the community's "attention."

Good or bad, it was fun.

But now it's just hack-or-not debates, and my dopamine plummeted below sea level.

So I closed the community ages ago.

15 minutes before the official statement.

If the users knew, they'd foam at the mouth and keel over.

I didn't care one bit.

'Her name was Hean, right.'

People seek the familiar when there's nothing new.

The moment my usual dopamine dipped, like an addict chasing the next hit, I went hunting for more.

My regular fix was Yura, but she wasn't streaming today.

Then Hean, who'd put up a decent fight, crossed my mind.

She streamed too, right?

Shall I check her out?

I'd given her advice before, so I found her stream quick.

[Looks like you all had questions from today's stream... wanna discuss before I end?]

Hean was commentating her last PVP mode before signing off, still buzzing from earlier.

I crashed her stream and hit her with advice right away.

And...

This guy's in Hean's stream right now? (Screenshot of advice spam)

Wtf is this dude?

Ends custom matches then heads to Hean's?

A user multitasking between streams and forums caught it perfectly.