Sniping
Rena-ttang announced, "We will now begin the awards ceremony. First, just as last time, would third-place Oh-ha please step forward."
Clap, clap, clap—!
Under a storm of applause from countless streamers, Oh-ha accepted her prize of 500,000 Rena and the rights to her title with visible pride.
"Slayer of Twenty-Three" Oh-ha said, "That's eight more than last time. I was aiming for at least second this round, so it's a bit disappointing. I never expected there to be potions involved. Next time, I'll do everything I can to place even higher!"
With her title upgraded from fifteen kills to twenty-three, Oh-ha collected her prize money and strode confidently down from the awards stage.
A no-name streamer who used to average twenty or thirty viewers was now performing back-to-back on a server with over fifty thousand concurrent viewers, and her broadcast metrics were climbing steadily as a result.
Yeah. She builds her foundation nice and solid like that, and the moment Wang-ko joins the server, she becomes his right hand and grows into a mid-tier streamer.
Having already bought her coin at the absolute bottom, I couldn't help feeling warm just watching her.
Grow nice and strong, and hurry up and repay the favor.
Rena-ttang continued, "And now, the second-place announcement. She was the winner of last Purge Day, and unfortunately she's dropped one spot this time. Still showing that same formidable strength—the president and leader of V-Live Company! Seo-a. Please come up to the stage."
Waaaaah—!
This time it wasn't just applause. Cheers rang out loud enough to fill the square.
That was how deeply my thrashing of Mist had left an impression. The streamers around me had every reason to react that way. It had been a duel packed with crisis and reversal, like a one-act drama.
"Who Threatened the Throne" Seo-a said, "I'd first like to dedicate this honor to Mist, who fought so hard against me today. Last time it was a gear-spec difference, and this time it was a potion difference that let me win by luck. Ah—and for anyone who wants their looted gear back, I'll return it for ten thousand Rena per piece. Once again, thank you to everyone who celebrated with me."
I collected one million Rena from Rena-ttang and stepped down from the awards stage.
Far off in the very back row stood Mist and the members of Bad Potato Company. Mist's character in particular wasn't moving so much as a pixel.
His mental state had clearly checked out.
He could try claiming it was a "potion difference" again, just like last Purge Day—but once is one thing. Twice, and even the people listening to the excuse start finding it pathetic.
In the end, the floating viewers' goodwill had abandoned him, and Mist was left with barely half his usual audience. That remaining half was almost certainly Bad Potato Company's core fandom.
If he wanted to hold on to even them, he'd have to pull himself together starting now and work his ass off.
And those floating viewers went looking for the streamers who'd performed well this Purge Day—myself included. Naturally, the biggest slice of that pie came to me.
My viewer count had finally broken two thousand, and I carefully hid the satisfied smile tugging at my lips.
Ahem. I'm supposed to have a cool image. Gotta protect the concept.
"Seo-a unnie's era is already over, geosida. Now it's Mayo's era that has arrived, geosida!"
"Mayo, how could you say something so harsh? If her era is over, then Miho unnie is getting on in years—she'd have to start walking with a cane."
"……You're worse."
Rena-ttang announced, "And at last, the first-place award for this Purge Day. She's the youngest member of Rena World, and she appeared on this week's Everyone Sings Well content and had the whole audience cheering 'Just stay healthy!'—our Mayo!"
Mayo strode confidently onto the awards stage, basking in everyone's applause as she claimed the first-place prize of 1.5 million Rena.
Our crew members watched with pure pride.
Ahem. Honestly, the biggest credit for our crew's breakthrough today belongs to Lucy—loyal Suriname fan and proud owner of the drug farm. But all the spotlight's going to me and Mayo, so I feel a little bad.
Tsk. I'll find a chance to take care of her properly.
"Ottogi Gold" Mayo declared, "Mayo has finally claimed first place, geosida. Lucy unnie, who worked so hard brewing potions, and Miho unnie, who helped with enchanting and Netherite upgrades—thank you so much, geosida. And Ah-yeon unnie and Subnitti unnie from our company, thank you so, so much too……"
Good, good. Our Mayo thoughtfully prepared a long thank-you speech in advance.
More than anything, though, the new title she'd set for herself jumped out first. Preference is preference when it comes to titles, but it wasn't like some company had sponsored her—linking it to her own nickname as Ottogi Gold Mayo was a bit……
I'd been too lazy to think of one myself and just reused the title given to last week's second-place finisher.
"Ottogi Gold" Mayo continued, "And our hardworking, always-grateful leader, Seo-a unnie! I'll mix mayonnaise into your rice so deliciously for you, geosida. For real!"
No, I would like to eat normally, thank you!
Mayo had casually thrown out the bait, and the chat was already losing its mind.
I ignored the chat trying to strong-arm us into a collab mukbang and collected ten thousand Rena apiece from the streamers flocking over, returning their gear one piece at a time.
Even so, my eyes stayed fixed in one direction the whole time.
Hmm. Don't tell me he's not coming for his gear again this time?
Losing a full set of Netherite gear was a much bigger deal than last time. Just imagining another week of gear grinding was hell itself.
Would Mist choose pride, or practicality?
Standing firmly in the position of power, I decided to wait at my leisure.
One by one, the victims paid their ten thousand Rena per piece, reclaimed their gear, and disappeared. In no time, the square had quieted down a little.
Oh Yeong-jun, who'd only spectated today because it was his first week and the newbie protection period was still active, walked up to Mayo and declared that he would take the championship in round three.
"Hmph! Next time the win is Mayo's too, geosida."
"No, the win is mine—Oh Yeong-jun's, geosida! What, you think I can't say geosida too, geosida?!"
"……."
How is it possible for two people with that much of an age gap to match so perfectly in mental age.
Apparently finding the two of them entertaining, Oh-ha jumped in to join the pile-on.
Ugh. These two airheaded-looking people are going to become the biggest winners Rena World has ever produced.
Through all of it, Mist was still lingering in the corner, dithering.
Maybe his stream chat is in chaos right now? Split between the pride faction and the practicality faction that wants him to swallow it and just get the Netherite gear back?
In the meantime, Park Na-na led the Decrescendo crew members over to say hello.
"Seo-a, I heard you promoted our carol video on stream today? You gonna keep doing cute things like that?"
"Come on, that's just basic. In a virtual scene this small, we've got to help each other out. And Nana unnie—what are we to each other, huh? Wooga-dol audition classmates, Oh-ha-ssaem's PUBG Kindergarten classmates, AND Rena World roommate classmates! We're basically elementary, middle, and high school classmates at this point."
"Honestly, just listening to you talk, you're a total con artist."
Park Na-na's giggling looked genuinely happy. Seol Pyo-woo, Elsa, Muyo, Baiyo, and the rest came over to greet me as well.
For once, the atmosphere was warm and friendly.
But it didn't last.
Of all the worst possible timing—right at this most pleasant moment—Mist, who had been sitting quietly, finally started to move.
The story between Mist and me was one of the highest-buzz topics in all of Rena World, so everyone instinctively took a few steps back and cleared space. Fellow broadcasters knew better than to ruin each other's content angles.
Alright. Let's see you make a choice. Pride, or practicality.
Whichever he picked, today's Purge Day had thoroughly wrecked Mist's face, and the damage to his stream was undeniable. A former pro gamer who had swaggered in calling himself a Minecraft expert—beaten one-on-one by a woman. Twice.
Blaming gear and potion differences had already worn thin as an excuse.
That was why I watched him with a look full of anticipation. He was a mid-tier streamer with some real experience under his belt. How exactly was he going to break through this crisis?
"This is ridiculous. Seriously."
The denial stage, is it?
Honestly, as a prideful former pro gamer, I could understand that. In fighting terms, it would feel like a pro getting beaten by an amateur.
But no matter how deep the shock, Mist should never have said what came next. A slip of the tongue that so clearly targeted someone and laid bare his malice.
"You're using a proxy, aren't you? There's no other way this is possible. Let's be honest here. Right? Someone else played for you, didn't they?"
"……."
The air around us froze solid.