Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Hello
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Go Won-su scrolled down through the posts.
Unlike earlier, there were far more posts about the main content: streams and preliminaries results.
However, one thing caught Go Won-su's eye more than those.
Armchair Advisor.
Also known by another nickname: Third Life.
It was the name Go Won-su had come to hate most over the past few days.
Go Won-su played in League of Worlds under the name Diamond Guardian.
And the Diamond Guardian who had been killed twice by Third Life was none other than Go Won-su himself.
'Third Life.'
This morning, he had finally carved out time to enter the tournament, only to get instantly eliminated because of that guy.
'Haa... I could've won prize money...'
Go Won-su was confident he could have claimed a prize in the tournament.
Being enrolled in the Academy meant he was among the top in skill for his age group.
In fact, Go Won-su's grades were good enough to qualify for a scholarship at the Academy.
He considered himself top-tier among low-level players in PVP, and it was confidence backed by solid evidence.
His bold play against a player suspected of hacking earlier had stemmed from that very confidence.
But luck had been against him, or rather, his opponent had been Third Life, and everything went to hell.
As he kept thinking about Third Life, the kid from earlier suddenly came to mind.
'What was it that kid said to me?'
Just like that vile armchair advisor.
Spouting off without knowing a damn thing, acting all high and mighty.
Go Won-su hated Third Life.
Not because he had lost to him twice.
That was a fair loss by skill, something he could accept, more or less.
So the reason was something else.
To be specific, it wasn't just the occasional posts embarrassing him, but above all, the unsolicited advice on his playstyle.
The most recent advice post was probably this one.
In summary, it was: "Your game skills suck, so go practice your swordsmanship more."
An outrageous insult.
Yet it was advice that actually helped.
Due to the game's own correction system, manual actions were more precise and quicker than relying on animation buffs. Accuracy and movement speed were huge advantages in the game.
Thanks to that, when Go Won-su followed Third Life's advice, his PVP win rate shot up an impressive 27%.
But that's why it's called "advice" rather than mere suggestion—it's shoved in your face whether you want it or not.
Who wants unsolicited critiques on their neck from a stranger?
And after that advice...
Go Won-su got absolutely roasted on the forum for a while.
All because of that unwanted advice.
Diamond Guardian was the character Go Won-su had poured his heart into raising, his one and only pride.
He hadn't been playing League of Worlds for long, but in there, he could crush enemies without restraint or holding back.
On the internet, Go Won-su was invincible, like Lu Bu.
Through League of Worlds, he did the things he couldn't in real life powerless reality, recovering his self-esteem.
That's why Go Won-su reacted faster and more fiercely to insults against Diamond Guardian than to direct ones against himself.
It pissed him off more when his character got dissed than when he personally did.
The guy who beheaded him says, "You're too sloppy," then gives bossy advice like, "Do it like this. Why aren't you?"
And that advice was annoyingly useful, leading to more online roasting.
Just as he was grumbling hard...
*Ding!*
The game finally started.
A knight in splendid armor appeared in the middle of the plains.
"Gotta earn my keep today too."
Go Won-su slung his sword over his shoulder. Game buffs were turned off. Gaming was a money-sinking hobby. The reason Go Won-su played...
That was...
"Pick up ten more of these and sell 'em, and tomorrow's meals are covered."
...because he could make money in the game.
Thinking about selling them later made Go Won-su frown again.
Item sales relied on trust.
So the image hit from Third Life was a massive loss.
Go Won-su had zero reasons to like Third Life.
Meanwhile.
Just as Go Won-su logged in and missed the community...
If Go Won-su had seen it, he might have spat blood.
The internet answers anything you ask.
Of course, sometimes the answers don't match the question.
Since it's an indefinite mass of people responding.
This was one such case.
I took a break from the community and pondered.
What was the problem?
I thought I'd kindly explained it, so why'd he run?
—Isn't it obvious? If someone came up to me like that out of nowhere, I'd run too.
Is that so?
The mage in my head jabbed at me.
—And why give advice there in the first place?
No.
If it were you, wouldn't you butt in seeing someone with 3-circle mana waste it on a 1-circle spell right in front of you?
—That's different from this.
Isn't it the same?
—It's not!
It felt like my ears were ringing from the shout, even though it was clearly a hallucination in my head.
I was about to ask what was different, but stopped.
—What do you mean different? Are your eyes clogged?
Ah, even my inner thoughts are audible.
Well, it's a hallucination I created, so of course it hears everything.
—No. Before the difference, if you saw violence, you should've stopped it first. Why didn't you?
Huh?
It was consensual after paying properly. What's the issue?
—Does that look normal to you? It's school violence. Bullying. If paying makes it okay to hit, then I can pay and hit you too?
Common sense, huh...
Plenty of beatings happen without pay, so if there's clear compensation and payment, isn't it fine?
The kid who got hit was only defending on purpose.
Meaning he sold himself as merchandise to those two boys.
That's why I didn't intervene when I confirmed it was school violence.
What was unfair about the bullying?
Was the beaten student the unfair one, or the ones paying to beat him?
If I stepped in here, it would create unfairness. Stopping the payer means questioning why they paid, and stopping the receiver cuts off his unexplained cash flow.
So I gave advice.
To hit better.
And to block better if you can dodge.
—Don't just think from your perspective. Isn't that common sense?
Of course, it might not be common sense judgment. Common sense is always the majority view. What was common for me might not be now that times have... no, the world has changed, so maybe that's common now.
—Haa... How am I supposed to fix your social skills?
Hearing the sage's sigh, I entered the house.
Then tossed my phone anywhere and pulled out the potato chips I'd craved earlier.
My emergency stash piled on the shelf.
I grabbed a thick nitrogen-packed bag of potato chips.
Tore it open without hesitation, popped one in my mouth, and logged into the internet.
Time to see what happened today.
Then, suddenly, the stack of notifications next to me caught my eye.
A message from the elementary school teacher I'd skipped class from.