The Newbie is Too Strong

3:00 PM on a weekday. It was the hour when busy modern people were diligently rolling along as productive members of society. However, time is relative. While 3:00 PM was the peak of the workday for some, for others, it was the moment they woke up and energetically began their day. This was precisely the case for those who resided in the Virtual Reality Streamer Gallery—commonly known as the VRS Gallery—a community dedicated to discussing VR broadcasts.

Waking up in the late afternoon after falling asleep in the early morning hours, they would wander around looking for a stream worth watching. Most users of the gallery shared this behavioral pattern. Since the broadcasts of the massive creators, the so-called "conglomerate streamers," didn't start until evening, these wanderers needed a place to hang out until then. They wanted a stream that was reasonably entertaining and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fun to watch. Unfortunately, at this hour, there was almost no streamer who could satisfy their picky tastes. Just as these gallery users were clicking their tongues, thinking today was another bust as they scavenged for streams like hyenas looking for prey, a post went up. It was an incredibly simple post.

Naturally, the reactions were far from positive. The denizens of the gallery were, by nature, a highly irritable bunch. Their daily routine consisted of criticizing and tearing others down for no reason, constantly sowing discord over which streamer was better. In the absence of any other drama, it was hardly surprising that a post telling them to watch Hanya's stream was immediately branded as viral marketing and subjected to a witch hunt. But the tide turned about five minutes later, when another post appeared.

The content of the post itself was no different from the previous one—it was about a beautiful girl appearing on Hanya's stream. It wouldn't have been surprising if it had been buried under angry comments and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a barrage of downvotes like before, but this post quickly gathered upvotes and shot straight to the popular page. The difference lay in the short video clip attached right below the text. The brief clip vividly captured a stunningly beautiful girl ruthlessly slaughtering her enemies with a katana. It possessed more than enough impact to prevent it from being dismissed as mere viral marketing.

Ultimately, it succeeded in capturing the full attention of the bored gallery users. Whether that attention was positive or negative didn't really matter.

The chat window was scrolling so fast it felt as if the screen itself was warping. Hanya's viewer count, which had been hovering at a mere 700, suddenly surged to 1,500. The 800 newcomers from the gallery paralyzed the chat with a sheer force of numbers that easily overwhelmed the existing viewers. It was a sight that would fluster even veteran, professional streamers. Moreover, wasn't the owner of this channel, Hanya, a small-time streamer who had only just begun to escape obscurity? The invaders expected her to be flustered and clumsy, unsure of how to handle the situation.

Surprisingly, however, Hanya remained calm. She didn't react at all to the chaotic chat. To be precise...

"Nice shot! Wow, what a shot!"

She was simply too busy keeping up with the beautiful girl and commentating on her battle in real-time to look at the chat. Whether the chat exploded or not, the only thing that mattered to Han-ah was capturing every single frame of the girl swinging her sword. Just now, it happened again. The blonde girl, her hair fluttering as she swung her sword, lightly deflected an opponent's attack.

Parrying. This deflection technique, where precise timing was everything, was a high-difficulty skill almost exclusive to seasoned veterans who had completely mastered the game. Even experts rarely used it due to the incredibly tight window and the high risk of failure. Yet, this beginner was casually demonstrating such an advanced technique right before her eyes.

'This is going to work. It's a guaranteed hit!'

Han-ah, who had somehow become the girl's dedicated camerawoman, felt the premonition of a massive hit grow even stronger as the game progressed. It was inevitable. Everything the girl did defied common sense. If a video of this didn't succeed, what would?

If she had to nitpick, the only disappointment was that this wasn't a ranked match, and she couldn't queue for ranked games with the girl yet. But she couldn't magically conjure up a non-existent account, and the fact that she was a complete newbie was precisely what made this footage so fresh and exciting, so complaining felt ungrateful.

'With her skills, she'll climb the ranks in no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time anyway.'

The girl's skill level far surpassed that of an average player. Once she completed the five normal matches required to unlock ranked play, a monster would undoubtedly be unleashed upon the ladder.

'Once our tiers match up, we can play a couple of ranked games together.'

Han-ah smiled brightly as she ran happy scenarios in her head, her eyes still glued to the sword-wielding girl. Before she knew it, her gaze was dripping with pure adoration.

Meanwhile, the chaotic chat had long since quieted down. It was the combined result of Han-ah's complete lack of response—practically ignoring them no matter how much they spammed—and the blonde beauty's unbelievable gameplay, which defied the eyes of everyone watching.

"Yes, this is her third match. She's a complete newbie who hasn't even unlocked ranked play yet. A total beginner."

Taking advantage of a brief lull in the action to respond to the donation, Han-ah glanced at the chat and tilted her head in confusion.

"Wait, why is the chat moving so fast?"

As she turned her gaze to find the cause, she saw it. A viewer count that made her doubt her own eyes.

"T-Two... two thousand?!"

The number, which was well over double her usual viewership, left Han-ah completely dazed.