51. First, to Rin
51. First, to Rin
***
"Congratulations on your win, Rin!! But what are you two talking about right now?"
At Sua's curious question, Serin gave a small shake of her head.
"Nothing much. It wasn't anything important."
It literally hadn't even risen to the level of a conversation.
I'd simply turned down a random friend request from a user named Gosu.
Accepting it wouldn't have mattered much, but I still didn't want to get close to anyone else that easily yet.
I wanted to get used to people step by step. Like Sua, for example, who was looking at me right now with a bright expression.
First, build a connection with someone I didn't think would harm me. Then, gradually lower my guard and close the distance with other people.
My personality had never been the type to get close to people easily, and after being betrayed so many times in the world of Black Ark, I had a certain distrust of people.
"Ahem."
I could see the user named Gosu shuffling awkwardly after having his friend request rejected, but I still had no intention of accepting it.
"Uh..."
Seeing them talk, Sua had thought things had ended on a good note, but faced with the awkward atmosphere between them, even Sua laughed awkwardly and tried to read the situation.
To sort things out, Sua quickly racked her brain.
In the first place, if you traced the starting point of this duel, it had all begun because of Gosu's stubborn attitude in refusing to understand the Greatsword Dancer.
On top of that, even Sua hadn't expected Serin, who had been watching the stream, to type in chat in response to Gosu's attitude.
A chat message saying she would show him the Greatsword Dancer herself.
And then the duel between Gosu and Serin that had suddenly come together.
In a way, this had been a place to verify the new class called the Greatsword Dancer.
"So. Based on the result of that duel, can we conclude that the Greatsword Dancer is good?"
And with Serin's victory just now, the answer had effectively been decided.
Kang Hyeok slowly nodded at Sua's words.
Rather than thinking he'd lost because the Greatsword Dancer was strong, he simply felt that this user named Rin was monstrously skilled, but he didn't want to ramble on pathetically.
"Well, I lost, so I've got nothing to say. Viewers, the Greatsword... Dancer seems good."
Even as he spoke with a sour expression, Kang Hyeok ultimately looked at Serin and conceded.
His usual way of speaking and behavior were rough, but that didn't mean Gosu had a bad reputation.
He acknowledged what deserved acknowledgment, and he didn't hold grudges afterward.
In fact, some people liked him precisely for that easygoing attitude.
Sua looked at Gosu with a slightly surprised expression.
'That's a side of him he only shows to people he genuinely acknowledges.'
Normally, Gosu and she would tell each other they couldn't stand each other. Even if they traded jokes, deep down they acknowledged each other.
But even seeing that side of Gosu, Serin's lips twitched with a subtle expression.
"Honestly, I just wanted to say it's fine as one possibility for the Greatsword Dancer. If you ask whether the combination of Dancer and greatsword is generally good, I honestly think it's a bit... ambiguous. Viewers, if you're going to use a greatsword, just go Berserker Class."
Truthfully, even Serin felt guilty openly saying that the Greatsword Dancer was good.
She'd pushed back against Gosu's claim that the Greatsword Dancer was outright impossible and ended up fighting this duel. But that was because she wanted to show that the Greatsword Dancer was possible, not because it was actually good.
And if she said here that the Greatsword Dancer was good, it would really feel like she was peddling snake oil.
'...People would be disappointed if they copied it.'
If a flood of people actually tried to use greatswords with the Dancer Class, she had no confidence she could take responsibility for that.
No, she added more to drive the point home that they shouldn't do it at all.
"So viewers, I'd really rather you not even attempt something like the Greatsword Dancer. You all saw the duel just now. You know I kept getting pushed back in strength."
[yeah i'm making a dancer character today]
[already bought a unique greatsword lololol]
[what's rin doing trying to keep the greatsword dancer all to herself lmaooo]
[she beat gosu, a top-tier greatsword user, with a greatsword, and she's telling us not to?]
[already with the reverse psychology lmaooo]
[rin you're killing me...]
[i usually hate when people talk too much, so why do i like it when rin talks?]
[you're watching a stream and you hate people talking too much? what does that even mean]
[he just likes rin, obviously lmaooo]
[fr lol]
[i'm a berserker but after watching this today i'm switching to dancer]
But the chat was reacting completely differently from what she'd said.
"I clearly said it...? That it's not as good as you all think. The choice is yours."
Even while thinking the chat was half joking, Serin drew a firm line.
She had told them not to do it.
"If Rin is saying that much, it probably means it's very difficult. So I'd recommend that viewers think it over a bit more."
As she watched Sua add her own explanation, Serin felt it was about time for her to leave.
It had been a sudden duel, but it had been fun in its own way, and I also wondered if I'd intruded on another streamer's broadcast for no reason.
"Gosu? I'd appreciate it if you took my chat as meaning that something like this is possible, rather than as a provocation. And I feel like I may have butted into your collab for no reason."
"No. Well, I'm the one who brought up that the Greatsword Dancer was impossible. It doesn't really bother me."
"Okay. Then I'll go get some rest."
"Ah. Yes, take care."
Kang Hyeok's disappointment was plain to see as Serin moved to leave, but he didn't try to say anything more.
If he came across as clinging, it would only make the other person more resistant. More than rushing to approach her now, he thought it was better to gradually get closer through Plea.
"Rin, great work today! I'll send over a portion of the donations that came in during today's collab separately."
"No. It's fine. I received something yesterday too. Let's just call it even."
"Come on, Rin, even so."
"It's really fine, so you don't have to give me anything."
Even just looking into what I'd received yesterday, every piece of Another World equipment had been seriously expensive.
And if I counted the in-game Another World equipment too, I'd received an enormous amount. I didn't want to take anything more from Sua.
The NewTube video Sua had uploaded a few days ago with my permission supposedly generated revenue, but that didn't really feel real to me. Right now, the feeling that I was one-sidedly receiving things was too strong.
After that, Serin left, and Kang Hyeok also seemed to decide that was enough and departed, leaving the stream to proceed with Sua's personal broadcast as the focus.
***
"...?"
Eunha, having just charged money, blinked blankly.
She checked the channel again, and it was definitely the stream she'd been watching.
But the user named Rin was nowhere to be seen.
She'd definitely been visible just moments ago, and now there was only a blonde character.
Only Plea was visible on the monitor screen.
"Where did she go?"
She'd turned off the stream to set up a separate account for charging, and the process had been more complicated than expected.
Still, she'd only spent a few minutes on the payment page.
In that time, everything had ended, and Rin had disappeared.
Faced with that unbelievable reality, Eunha finally typed in chat and asked.
[does anyone know where the user named rin went?]
She stared at the rapidly scrolling chat, wondering if anyone would answer, and a few people did respond to her message.
[collab just ended]
[yeah rin went to rest]
[plea aren't you going to use a greatsword?]
[that greatsword vs greatsword match was seriously so fun, plea should try a greatsword too]
[idk i think greatswords are too clunky]
[if i watch rin's stream tomorrow will i get to see the greatsword again?]
—No. Viewers, the collab just ended, so no more mentioning other streamers! I'll say it again: once a collab ends, mentioning other streamers is banned! I'd like to make an exception for Rin, but... still, if everyone only talks about Rin, I'll feel hurt too. So please focus on my stream!
[lmaooo]
[what's with plea's tone all of a sudden]
[she must feel threatened by rin lol]
[lmaooo everyone's watching and laughing, right?]
[she says she's hurt. stop mentioning rin]
[what does she mean she wants to make an exception lol]
"Haah."
Once Eunha understood the situation, a sigh escaped her naturally.
A deep sense of regret that it was all over.
'I wanted to see a little more.'
It hadn't been like the NewTube video where Rin had actually wielded a Crescent-Moon Weight, but even holding a greatsword, she'd looked composed against a user named Gosu, whose name was widely known even among pros.
And the faint smile Rin had worn throughout the duel made Eunha feel as though Rin was enjoying the duel itself.
When Rin had driven the greatsword into Gosu's chest at the end, a shiver had run through Eunha's body without her realizing it.
The deft redirection and the clean movement that felt like a near-perfect transition from defense to offense.
And at the end of it.
When she saw Rin smiling radiantly, her heart had seemed to pound.
At the same time, it was as if the emptiness that had filled her chest over the past few weeks had been wiped away in an instant. In its place now was a strange heat.
She wanted to fight the user named Rin, and at the same time, she wanted to talk with her.
She was certain Rin was the same kind of person as her. She felt it instinctively.
It was an emotion she'd never felt facing other pro players, but she felt it looking at the user named Rin.
Wouldn't that person understand me?
"...I want to meet her."
Before she knew it, Eunha was murmuring those words. Even knowing that, given her current situation, she couldn't actually meet the user named Rin, she said it as if her true feelings were leaking out.
She went into the channel's VOD and replayed the scene of the user named Rin fighting the duel she'd just watched.
The sight of Rin driving the greatsword in at the end and smiling radiantly.
Even knowing it was just a character, Eunha loved the fact that Rin had fought that way.
Thump.
Her heart was pounding as if she'd fallen for someone.
No, it really did feel like she'd fallen for that overwhelming skill. The thought was so absurd to her that Eunha burst out laughing for a moment.
"...How did someone like this suddenly appear?"
It was an emotion Yoo Eunha was feeling for the first time.
A user who made her wonder if she could win.
That skill, arrogant and brimming with confidence even while enjoying the duel itself.
From the videos floating around NewTube to the skill she'd just shown against the user named Gosu.
All of it still seemed to captivate her, flickering before her eyes.
She wanted to talk to her right now, but she'd ended up too late.
—Donation account balance: 2,000,000 won.
Staring at the two million won she'd charged into her tweetie donation account, she fell into thought.
She briefly considered donating that money to Plea right now to ask about Rin, but from what she'd already looked into, the user named Rin was definitely a streamer too.
She even clearly remembered that Rin's regular stream time was 4 p.m.
Which meant Rin would be streaming again tomorrow.
"If I'm going to donate... I want to give it to Rin."
The money didn't feel like that much to her, but if she was going to donate, she wanted her first donation to go to the person named Rin.
And so Eunha made up her mind.
She would simply donate to the person named Rin's stream tomorrow.
"She'll definitely be surprised, right?"
At the very least, with that amount, she thought she might be able to get Rin to add her as a friend.
And she was also looking forward to seeing how the user named Rin would react when she recognized her.