How to Get Better
Momoji had already received instruction from outstanding Challenger players before, so she wasn't expecting anything earth-shattering from Lee Chaewon.
Instead, just like the solid advice Chaewon had dropped during past streams, she was hoping for something opportunistic—a free-win tip, a juicy camping spot, the kind of shortcut that could let her step up in a short time.
"ChaeChae-nim?"
"Yes?"
"Why do we have to do knife fights?"
Knife fights, of all things.
Having finished decking herself out in cash items, Momoji had agreed to play normals with Lee Chaewon instead of ranked. She thought the real lessons were finally about to begin—only for them to queue a knife-fight lobby.
Room Title: Knife Fights / Guns Banned / Keep It Civil pls
She racked her brain for a reason. Maybe it was for stable aim practice?
If you practice with guns you die too fast. This might be a way to train with some breathing room.
At Momoji's question, Lee Chaewon opened her mouth.
"The reason?"
"Yes."
"Ah, I've tried it myself—knife fights are the fastest way to farm the title. Putting it off just stresses you out, so it's better to knock it out early. Total win."
"...What?"
Title?
What title?
"Ah, earlier you said you wanted to get better, so I was going to recommend the training route I used. To do that, you need the title first."
"……Just checking, but does getting the title give you a buff?"
"Nope. You've been saying weird stuff ever since we bought cash items. If it did that, the company would get roasted."
"……"
Of course. That was why she had asked.
The baffling way Chaewon talked was starting to make Momoji's head throb.
"Th-then why get the title…?"
"Huh? You said you wanted to get good like me, right?"
"I diiid?"
"You have to rack up three hundred rifle kills, a hundred fifty sniper kills, and fifty grenade kills every single day for a whole year to earn the Weapon Master title. Melee's the easy one—only about thirteen kills a day. That's why I recommend warming up with knife fights."
The concrete kill counts and the staggering time frame made Momoji's jaw drop.
"Eeeh?"
Weapon what? What even was that.
And why would anyone do it.
"A hundred thousand…? Fifty thousand? What is any of this. Wait, hold on, my head hurts."
While Momoji's brain cells strained to make sense of the situation, Lee Chaewon spoke up brightly.
"See this? My title. The bright red one."
"Yeees… it says Weapon Master…"
"Cool, right?"
"Huh? Yeah, yeah."
"Heheh. You can get it too, Moji-nim."
"What?"
Why would I. No thank you. Not doing it. Can't do it.
But she couldn't just bail without even properly starting. Even if she ran later, she should at least taste it first so there wouldn't be lingering regrets.
Besides……
Why does she look so happy? It's making me feel guilty.
"Hee, just earning this Weapon Master title took me a whole year! By the time you get it, Moji-nim, you'll be hitting Diamond as easily as I do."
"Uweh? Y-yeah… I guess?"
If you had to rack up a hundred thousand assault rifle kills, of course your skill would improve along the way. How could it not.
"Quick Match stacks kills faster than ranked and the fights are spicier, so it piles up quick. We'll warm up a few knife games then hop straight into QM."
"Okaaay."
After that timid reply, she was in the middle of picking a melee weapon for knife fights she had never once tried in her life when—
"……"
Gulp—
Just like the donation said, this was pure insanity.
Getting suckered by the "we're both girls" angle—what kind of disaster was this.
She genuinely wanted to get closer, but she had zero interest in mining kills like some miner who'd wandered into an abandoned shaft.
There are other tips, right? Like how to use the Win34, or those rifle lectures she gives the viewers.
Why this title grind instead of those…
While Momoji sank into gloom over her bleak future, ChaeChae had only grown brighter and brighter since the shopping spree.
Why?
Was she excited because she got to torment her?
The suspicion rose on its own.
Then, suddenly—
"Huk!"
Something flashed through Momoji's mind and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
C-could it be… because of the chat autopsy?!
She had almost forgotten, but that had definitely happened.
DualKingChaeChae had gotten caught in one of those "autopsies" streamers did to entertainingly execute trolls or toxic viewers. It made sense—people called her a famous sniper, and she had already dumped walls of text in chat before, so for a streamer it wasn't anything special.
But what about the person on the receiving end?
It probably hadn't been fun.
And if it was DualKingChaeChae? Having witnessed her little-devil antics, Momoji couldn't help finding the motive deeply suspicious.
Momoji narrowed her eyes.
"ChaeChae-nim, why do you seem so excited? Teaching someone is a hassle, and you probably wanted to play ranked today too. In a way, I'm getting in your way, right? Is there a reason?"
"Ah."
Momoji hoped ChaeChae would burst out with a big "Pfft—" and show that trademark mischievous streak. Then she could dig in, demand a curriculum change, or make a break for it.
But—
"Ah… uh… did I…?"
A crystal-clear, pure, innocent voice hit her ears, as if she genuinely hadn't noticed.
"I don't have many friends, so maybe it's because it's been so long since I played with someone. This'll be fun. Hee."
The chat buzzed. Momoji froze solid.
Am I… about to fall into the abyss here…?
Of course, it felt too sincere to be calculated. If that voice just now had been acting, she should go into acting.
Momoji couldn't bring herself to press any further.
"…We're friends now too. Friends."
"Oh? Are we? Friends… heehee. Okay!"
Building the friendship another warm layer was nice and all, but—
"……"
Trickle—
I can't run anymore…
"From now on, come play every day and get checked!"
"Okay…"
Stuck grinding the title with no escape, Momoji felt something—cold sweat or tears—slide down her face.
"Hey, what are you so busy with? Your texts are slow."
"I'm crazy busy lately. Lots to do."
"Studying?"
"Yeah, something like that?"
She had made a friend on stream and met all kinds of viewers, so you could say she was studying people and society.
Or since it's a gun game… ballistics or whatever?
Anyway, she was studying. Yep.
"I'm not going to academy today. Wanna hit the snack place?"
"Hmm…"
I really wanted to climb a lot of ranked points today.
Master was right around the corner. After school was ranked time, so she hesitated a little.
When school let out Momoji wasn't around, so she played ranked; in the afternoon when Momoji showed up they ran Quick Match together. Since Momoji needed the title, Chaewon barely took any kills herself—she just wandered around and seasoned the enemies so they'd be easy to farm.
Yesterday Momoji had been over the moon, saying thirty kills in one game was a first for her.
Heh. I might have a talent for teaching.
She wiped her nose with a little smile.
"What? Why are you smiling?"
"Huh? Nothing, nothing."
Ever since she started streaming she hadn't hung out with Siyeon at all.
I'm Diamond 1 with fifty points right now. I'll climb later.
Today she would stop by the snack place and eat tteokbokki.
"My treat. Let's go."
"Huk, for real?"
"Yeah. Eat whatever you want, Chaewon."
It absolutely wasn't because free tteokbokki was on offer—she was just worried Siyeon would feel left out and decided to hang out. Free tteokbokki was the best, though.
Lee Chaewon's account Woniwoni>.< had been getting reported constantly even before she got famous.
FPS games had the cancer known as cheats, so when people ran into a player whose skill they couldn't comprehend, they hit the report button as a matter of course. Back then Woniwoni only played Quick Match with zero ranked history, which made her look especially suspicious.
Those routine reports usually got a few reviews from the company and then were ignored forever after—
"What's with this account? The reports are stacking up."
"Let me see. What is it."
The security team lead at Deadzone was watching the new hire process tickets.
"Hmm. Look carefully. Accounts with this many reports are usually: one, someone a streamer or YouTuber sniped; two, the streamer themselves; three, a high-tier smurf; or four, actual cheats. That's about it."
"Ah, so if there's already a review history we can just skip it?"
Smack—
"Ow—"
"You little punk. What are you talking about. You still review everything. But once an account's been cleared, check it monthly from then on. Streamers get set aside separately—they're a bit of an exception."
"Uh… how do I know if someone's a streamer?"
"For the reasonably famous ones there's a list file—use that. If they're not on the list but the report contents scream celebrity, search the internet and add them."
"Yes, sir. One sec… this person's not on the list. Woniwoni?"
The security newbie searched the web and a flood of Woniwoni / Lee Chaewon history poured out.
"Huh? She seems pretty famous? Why isn't she on the list?"
"Maybe she just started recently?"
"You're right—says she started streaming a week ago, female user. Age private, presumed young. Whoa, Diamond 1??"
"Hey, stop digging into the streamer's personal info and do your job. Add her to the list and set her aside."
"Yessir."
The team lead was about to head back to his own desk when he stopped mid-step.
Diamond 1? Female user?
The gender ratio was already overwhelmingly male, and the baseline physical difference meant high-tier female players were genuinely rare. A brand-new female streamer already at high tier?
Experience said something smelled off.
"Newbie, pull that streamer's client and logs."
"Yes, sir."
Causing a scene wasn't something upper management or he himself particularly enjoyed. The team lead waited for the check, hoping it would be clean.
Time passed.
"Team lead, she's clean."
"Ah, really? Whew, thank god."
"Her reaction speed was so fast it surprised me a bit, but just in case I rewatched the stream. It's pre-aim."
"Good, good. Then that's fine. That person too… what was the streamer name? DualKingChaeChae? Anyway, get her organized on the streamer list."
He let out a sigh of relief and waved his hands to shoo the kid off—but the new hire didn't leave.
He gave him a look that said, What? Why?
"Um, team lead. There is a problem."
"Huh?"
"This person is showing as a thirty-nine-year-old male."
"…You said young girl."
"Right?"
"……"
The team lead gazed out the window at the distant mountains.
"That's not our department. Toss it to Ops."
"Yes, sir."
And so Woniwoni's account information was passed over to Deadzone's operations team.