The Golden Sword's Pattern

Minji couldn't remember a time when her mom had been around, but right now the golden light gathering on Bolekia's sword felt oddly familiar.

"Oh, the gimmick shows up at 250 lines."

"It's only the first gimmick now? Seriously..."

"Huh?"

...

"No, seriously—!"

...

...

Even the Nice Squad, made up of the absolute elite among Ias players, couldn't clear Bolekia in a single day. The developers had publicly called the difficulty "despair-inducing," and it was never going to be something that ended after just a few tries.

"Let's call it here for today. It might be better to wrap up now and meet a little earlier tomorrow."

[01:06]

Before they knew it, it was already 1 a.m. The raid that had started at 10 a.m. the previous day had now been going for fifteen straight hours. Even hardcore gamers who did nothing but eat and play all day were starting to feel their stamina and focus slip.

"I think that's a good idea too. Everyone's concentration is dropping, and if we accidentally figure out the pattern..."

Yongho didn't finish the sentence, but the rest of the raid party understood exactly what he meant. On the surface, First Clear races looked like simple competition between raid groups, but in reality they were far uglier and more cutthroat. Once a pattern's solution appeared, most parties would simply copy it. The leading group could spend hours cracking a mechanic only for everyone else to steal the answer and save themselves the time. If the Nice Squad solved something right before logging off, the other parties would get the scraps without lifting a finger. Yongho, who took competition more seriously than anyone, would never allow that.

"Yeah, let's end early today. How about meeting around noon tomorrow? This raid clearly isn't something we'll finish in a day or two anyway. Get some proper rest and we'll meet then."

After experiencing the third gate's difficulty firsthand, the Nice Squad knew this raid had far more volume than could be cleared in just a few days. Among streamer parties, they were currently the only ones to have even reached ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the third gate, and the regular parties whose progress wasn't public probably weren't much further ahead. If this turned into a long-term race, it made more sense to stay fresh and tackle each attempt at full strength.

"Got it."

"Tch... I wanted to keep going..."

In the end, the Nice Squad decided to stop for the night. Well, there was one person who still wanted to keep trying, but with everyone's stamina completely drained, there was no helping it.

"You really need to sleep early. If I catch you staying up late again because you're scrolling the community, I'm coming to your place."

"Eek, th-that's... I'll change the password."

"I still have your house key, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"What the heck, why do you two share house keys?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Huh? Ah, don't misunderstand. That girl just gave me her key and password in case she oversleeps and needs someone to wake her up. Isn't she insane?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Ehh... is that really true?"

"You should always have solid insurance, right?"

...Anyway, with that, the first day of the Bolekia raid came to an end. Best record: Third Gate, Empire's First Sword, Bolekia HP at 249 lines.

After ending the stream, the first thing Minji did was surprisingly not dive straight into bed. Normally she would log off and immediately flop onto the mattress without even washing up, so this was unusual.

"Ehh... I was gonna sleep, but why...?"

Curiosity was not something easily controlled. "Hey Suha, do you know someone named Yeoru pretty well?"

Combined with Minji's inability to leave anything that piqued her interest alone, it was a perfect storm.

"Yeoru..? Why are you suddenly asking about her? Ah, right. You helped her party out while you were resting."

Being a major corporate streamer didn't just mean having a big following. Whether they wanted it or not, they inevitably got tangled up with other streamers. Even if it was purely business, someone of Suha's level had connections that could fill an entire mountain.

"I don't know her that well, to be honest. We're not really close..."

"Tell me anyway."

"...Did you take a liking to her or something? Asking me all this."

As soon as she finished speaking, Suha unconsciously touched her lips, worried that her words had sounded too blunt and might have hurt Minji's feelings. It was a completely unnecessary worry.

"Huh? Ah, it's nothing. I was just curious what kind of person she is."

This girl really had zero tact. More accurately, she didn't even try to read the room in the first place. Either way, Suha hadn't expected much. She already knew Minji was like this, so it wasn't strange. Still, she couldn't help hoping, just a little, that Minji would consider her feelings sometimes.

"...Hmm, where should I even start..."

Suha's mind drifted to the past, retracing her memories with Yeoru one by one.

"Ah, right. I first met her when she was still a mid-tier streamer."

Back when Yeoru was still mid-tier and Suha was already established as a major corporate streamer.

"It's a bit embarrassing, but... I was really lonely for friends back then. A lot of people tried to get close, but they were all just trying to ride on my coattails..."

Jeong Suha, who had graduated high school without making a single friend, had started streaming and slowly rebuilt her shattered self-esteem. As she began taking care of her appearance and her confidence returned, natural attention followed.

"After all, getting close to a big corporate streamer and doing collabs brings in that trickle-down effect. Plenty of people approached me for that reason. Honestly... it hurt a bit. What they wanted wasn't Jeong Suha, it was the streamer 'Suha-yam.'"

"Mmm.."

"Then she appeared—a rare female streamer with a high broadcast tier in the Ias scene."

Ias wasn't an easy game for broadcasting. Streamers who focused on it struggled to grow, and even if they did, they had to compete over a tiny slice of the pie. Because of that, Suha was wary of streamers around her level and felt something more calculating toward smaller ones. But Yeoru was different.

"At first I found it really strange. How do I put it... she seemed genuinely pure? She's different from you... but in some ways similar."

From their first meeting, where Suha could only feel sincere goodwill, she found herself naturally drawn to Yeoru. They started collaborating often, and viewers frequently called them a "sister duo."

"I thought I'd finally made a real friend. There was a bit of an age gap, but—now that I think about it, you and Yeoru are the same age. She's twenty-two too."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Maybe that's why she felt similar to you?"

Their on-stream chemistry was well-received. In reality Suha had rock-bottom self-esteem, but on stream she came across as cheerful and outspoken. Yeoru was calculating and sly underneath, but on stream she appeared innocent and kind to a fault. At least within the broadcast frame, the two of them felt like bickering but well-matched sisters.

"Then one day, we had our first real fight."

After a stream ended, Yeoru sought Suha out.

[Hey, what's up?]

[Unni, it's not a big deal, but do we really have to keep going with Semi?]

[...What?]

She was suggesting they effectively kick Semi, another streamer who had been raiding ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with them, out of the party.

"I was shocked. I knew Yeoru's on-stream persona didn't match her real self, but I never expected her to say something like 'let's get rid of a fellow streamer.'"

Suha naturally opposed it, and Yeoru couldn't understand why.

[Unni, are you serious? That person is going to cause trouble eventually. And she doesn't even pull her weight.]

[Still, she's a friend. Suddenly kicking someone out just because their numbers are low or there's controversy feels...]

[Haah, a friend?]

When the argument reached its peak, Suha realized they had both been fundamentally misunderstanding each other.

"That was when I understood—we'd both been making a huge mistake about each other."

[Unni... don't tell me you actually thought we were real friends?]

Yeoru had only wanted a partner. Not a one-sided parasitic relationship, but a mutually beneficial symbiosis. Among the options, Suha had been the most suitable by Yeoru's standards, so she had approached her. Her plan was to create strong on-stream chemistry between two sizable broadcasters, maximize the effect, and pull in viewers.

[I'm disappointed, Unni. I thought you were different.]

[I'm the one who's disappointed. I never thought you'd be thinking like that.]

[Ah, really? But that's just how this industry works. You know that too...]

In the end, it all fell apart.

"Honestly... maybe I knew deep down for a long time. I just didn't want to see it."

[Dinner? Sure, sounds good. Where do you want to meet? Ah, I'll bring the camera!]

[Huh? Why the camera?]

[What? Of course we're streaming, right?]

"Anyway, that's it. Yeoru and I are just... people who met for work. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't really know what kind of person she is. At most I know her real name and age."

"Uh, yeah... that story was darker than I expected. I honestly didn't think it would go there..."

After laying everything out, Suha let out a deep breath as if a weight had been lifted, but Minji, who had heard it all, felt the opposite. Maybe she shouldn't have asked. It seemed like a pretty painful memory. Thinking someone was a friend only to realize it was all one-sided... that kind of thing. And Yeoru was really something else. Our Suha is so kind and pretty, how could she not even offer basic friendship? People could be so cold.

"Uh, what was it... Senbong? Or whatever that person's name was? Was it because of that person's exposé?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that Yeoru keeps trying to get close to me again, so I was curious about her reason."

"Well, probably the same reason as with me. Right now you're one of the most famous streamers in Ias."

"Eh, me?"

"...You're addicted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the community. You know that perfectly well but you're pretending you don't."

Minji genuinely hadn't known. She had felt that she was being mentioned more often, but most of those mentions were filled with insults. Getting flamed on the community was the same as always, so she had never felt "famous."

"Anyway, that's the end of the Yeoru story. Think carefully before getting close to her. She's got good instincts for broadcasting, so if you want to grow your stream it wouldn't hurt to stay friendly. Of course... that doesn't mean actually becoming real friends."

"Yeah, thanks for telling me. But I don't think I need to go that far. I'm already earning enough to live comfortably anyway..."

"...Hehe."

"Huh? Why are you laughing?"

"Uh, uhh? No reason. I wasn't laughing. Mmm. I wasn't laughing."

Hmm, she could've sworn she heard something. Maybe she misheard.

"Anyway, I'll hang up now. You should sleep early too if you want to wake up on time tomorrow."

"Okaay, good night."

"Don't lurk on the community and go straight to bed."

"Yeah."

"And don't just go to sleep without washing. Brush your teeth and wash your feet."

"Mmm..."

"Clean your desk ahead of time too. You left snack bags lying around again, didn't you? Make sure you throw them away before sleeping."

"...Okay..."

This didn't feel like a friend anymore—it felt like a mom. Minji couldn't remember what having a mom felt like, but maybe it would have been something like this.

"Ah, right. Speaking of Yeoru, I just remembered something."

"Yeah?"

"I think she mentioned getting stalked once before. It just popped into my head. Okay, I'm really hanging up now. Sleep well~"