Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Opening a Music Concert
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Duels and annihilation battles.
Both are straight-up PVP content, and sure, plenty of folks might think, "It's just going from 1v1 to 3v3—what's the big difference?"
But once you actually try it, the gap is way bigger than you'd imagine.
It's not some minor shift just because the player count went up.
The number of skills players have to calculate, along with all the variables they bring—that triples, no joke.
And on top of that, you have to factor in all the buffs and crowd control from your own teammates.
So annihilation battles aren't just an expanded version of duels; they're a whole new beast.
Which means that with this tournament switching to annihilation format, the time and effort needed for practice ramps up big time.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Saintess Nice LIVE ON: Tournament Prep & Scrims] If you don't wanna get wiped and cry your eyes out, you gotta practice harder and sync up your team chemistry.
-The title... is normal...?
-Saintess Nice, you sick today or what?
-Can't get used to this title lol
Today's stream title was way more tame than usual, for a change.
No special reason or anything—just felt like occasionally dialing it back to let viewers chill out.
That way, when I drop a clickbait bomb next time, more people bite.
Call it the boy who cried wolf dilemma.
If I pull aggro every single time, folks stop trusting my titles altogether.
And poof—no more bites on the bait. Essential strategy.
Plus...
[Saintess Nice, after last stream, my wife roasted me for like three straight hours...?]
[Go easy today... just a tiny bit...]
Eder bro's desperate plea played a part too.
Luckily, his wife's an ex-stream manager, so she didn't go overboard—just teased him mercilessly.
Relieved my selfish trolling didn't wreck a marriage.
So I made up my mind.
Fine, today's the day for a clean, no-BS stream. For real.
"Hello, everyone."
-Heyyy
-Saintess
Even if troll blood runs through my veins, didn't I learn from that advice hotline last time?
I could be a decent human who gets fulfillment from helping others!
"Today, we're switching things up—going classy and clean—"
💰 DONATION ALERT 💰 [O-fanmu donated 100,000 won!] [What color are your panties?]
Ah.
"Pink..."
-ㅇㅈ ㅇㅈ ㅇㅈ
-Classy? Clean???
-LMAOOOOOO
-Oof...
-Madness, spilling it again lol
Yeah. With these degenerates, how am I supposed to run a normal stream?
Always sexualizing me, spewing profanity.
Stream goes live, and bam—first question's my panties.
My stream turning into pure dopamine crack? My constant trolling?
All their fault.
I'm innocent.
For real.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ["Can y'all hear me?"]
["Yep, loud and clear."]
"Got it."
Prepping for the tournament isn't just hopping in for a few annihilation rounds as a trio.
You gotta craft strategies and tactics, and lock in that team synergy.
["I already lined up scrim opponents for today."]
The smoothest way to handle all that? Scrims, hands down.
["Ooh, Eder oppa's connections~"]
-Eder bro delivers lol
-Real dad of Ias
-Eder's got wild connections fr
Eder bro's a closed beta vet—a living fossil of old-school Ias players.
Good personality, sharp wit—guy's got a massive network.
I'm an old-timer too, but my rep...
Friend List [Grape Candy (Online) - Turbulent Land of Flames] [White Dragon Pavilion (Offline)] [Moon Eyes (Online) - City: Premiere] Apart from a few end-times gallery high-nicks, most folks've ditched me. Network? Barely.
And excluding White Dragon Pavilion, they're all kinda embarrassing to name-drop anyway.
Speaking of...
[White Dragon Pavilion (Offline)]
'So, what was he trying to say yesterday?'
Something seemed off with White Dragon Pavilion lately, so I tried chatting last night.
Wouldn't you know it—PC bang time ran out mid-convo.
[Dragon Pavilion, sorry!]
...Could've topped up and logged back in, but nah—too stingy. Headed home.
Meant to ask today, but still offline.
Hope it's nothing serious...
["Room's up—sending invites, hop in, everyone."]
["Sure~"]
"Yup."
Anyway, mull it over after stream.
White Dragon Pavilion matters, but my paycheck comes first.
⚔ LOBBY SCREEN ⚔ [Annihilation Battle | Eder] Eder: Diamond IV Suha Yam: Gold I Saintess Nice: Diamond IV VS
Prime Noob Quarry Buster: Master Freedom: Master Raid Demon Battle Hardcore: Diamond I ["...Aren't these opponents a bit too high-tier?"]
"Whoa."
The team Eder bro brought were all top-tier PVP demons parked in high ranks.
One's Diamond like me, but tier 1 vs. my 4—three whole sub-ranks apart.
-We're just gonna get dev'd
-Balance patch fail??
-But if they're tournament-bound too, worth a scrap right?
-Suha Gold lolllll
Viewers were already doomsaying our wipe, griping about balance.
'Not quite...'
My take's different.
["They're tournament entrants like us—gotta scrim heavy hitters for it to count."]
["True... that tracks."]
The higher the scrim quality, the better the gains.
Practice against scrubs? Pointless beatdown.
Scrims are where losers learn more than winners.
On that note, Eder bro nailed the opponent pick.
[Freedom (Lobby): Hi there]
[Freedom (Lobby): Map pick?]
[Eder (Lobby): Alternate picks?]
[Freedom (Lobby): Sure]
[Freedom (Lobby): Bros first!]
[Eder (Lobby): kk]
["Whatcha wanna do?"]
"First game's light—circular arena?"
["Circular? Eh, practice match anyway... Suha?"]
["Whatever works, I suck anyway... hehe."]
-Circular??
-ㄷㄷ
-What's circle arena, weebs
-PVP nerds talking shop
["OK, let's roll!"]
["Fight!"]
And so, Nice Squad's first scrim kicked off.
⚙ SYSTEM COUNTDOWN ⚙ [SYSTEM: 3...] [SYSTEM: 2...] [SYSTEM: 1...] [SYSTEM: Game starting.] 🎵 TEAM LOADOUT 🎵 Saintess Nice: Saintess / Tambourine Eder: Berserker / Electric Guitar Suha Yam: Bard / Lyre 💰 DONATION ALERT 💰 [Anon donated 5,000 won!] [Wtf you guys holding a concert?]
-LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO
-Tambourine, guitar—all instruments??
-What drugs is streamer on
-What they doing? (X) What this psycho plotting now? (O)
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Boring."
That one word defined the life of Lee Young-jun: thirty-three, jobless, Ias addict.
His daily routine? Eat at home, shit, game. Rinse, repeat.
Whether a guy like that even qualifies to call life "boring" is debatable.
Get out more.
Get a job.
Act like a human.
Endless nagging from everyone around him, but
"Too much hassle."
One line, and he'd dodge all blame—sucking his parents dry in the process.
"Why's this my fault?"
Sure, Young-jun had tried escaping this rut—in his own way.
Job hunts, straight living, blending in.
Of course,
"The world's not hiring me, okay?"
All "efforts" by his metric—and none lasted three days.
Even his parents, who'd clung to hope at first, gave up last year.
Result? Young-jun stopped even pretending.
[Won't kick you out. But feed yourself.]
Parents cut allowance—life quality tanked.
"Cool, gold farming covers it~"
Cashed Ias gold covered it, turning him into a hopeless NEET.
One day, word from an Ias buddy:
[Freedom (Whisper): Yo]
[Freedom (Whisper): PVP tourney incoming?]
A massive PVP event in Ias—200 million won prize pool.
True to form, Young-jun had conquered every corner of Ias.
Burnt out on it all.
PVP was a natural pivot—and he hooked fast, hitting Master tier.
[To Freedom (Whisper): ??]
[Freedom (Whisper): Team up?]
[Freedom (Whisper): Finals entry alone is 2 mil]
Tourney hits—perfect distraction from the tedium, plus cash.
[To Freedom (Whisper): lfg]
No reason to say no.
Teamed with buds, entered.
[Freedom (Party): Scrim opponents lined up]
[Freedom (Party): Streamer party—watch chat]
[Raid Demon Battle Hardcore (Party): Streamers?]
[Raid Demon Battle Hardcore (Party): Any big names?]
[Freedom (Party): Eder bro, Suha, and uh...]
[Freedom (Party): Oh yeah, Saintess Nice]
[Raid Demon Battle Hardcore (Party): Wait, that Saintess Nice?? She streams?]
[Me (Party): Hold up, her as scrim?]
[Freedom (Party): Yup]
[Freedom (Party): New streamer I think]
[Raid Demon Battle Hardcore (Party): Hilarious lol]
"Saintess Nice..."
In his haunt, the forums, that name was legend—know it or you're a spy.
"Streams..."
Young-jun had tried streaming once.
Locked in his room gaming for cash? Envy hit hard.
But peak viewers: five. Quit.
"Pisses me off..."
You're a NEET like me.
Gaming and forum-posting all day—
Why you succeed, me fail?
"...Just some slut posting body pics for attention."
If he'd been born a girl like her, he'd crush it harder.
Seething with vile inferiority he couldn't voice, Young-jun stewed.
Fine—since we're matched, stomp her flat.
He ground his teeth inwardly.
⚙ SYSTEM COUNTDOWN ⚙ [SYSTEM: 3...] [SYSTEM: 2...] [SYSTEM: 1...] [SYSTEM: Game starting.] 🎵 ENEMY LOADOUT 🎵 Saintess Nice: Saintess / Tambourine Eder: Berserker / Electric Guitar Suha Yam: Bard / Lyre "What the hell are those guys on about."
Some weird-ass weapons? All of them.
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