Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Your Title Is
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Im Chan-ho was a pro gamer and also a pro broadcaster.
The past practice period had been honestly grueling and exhausting.
However, he had scheduled his break day a full three days later.
Of course, because the benefits of doing so were enormous.
Right now, less than 24 hours after the finals had ended.
The excitement of those who had watched the match showed no signs of cooling.
In such a situation, what would happen if Im Chan-ho, who had claimed the runner-up title, turned on his stream?
"Waaah! Hyungnim! Thank you so much! I'll keep working hard!!"
Naturally, a flood of congratulations and donations poured in.
Already the fifth massive donation in the 1-million-won range.
An amount far surpassing the 3-million-won runner-up prize money came rushing in all at once.
Im Chan-ho was faithfully paddling while the tide was high.
As the toil of the tournament prep period melted away pleasantly, the corners of his mouth kept curving upward.
After spinning yarns disguised as match reviews and raking in donations for a while,
as today's sponsorship total began to rival the winner's prize money...
the promised collab time arrived.
"Alright then! For part 2, as previewed, we'll prep for Apprentice CK! Sorry to Nari. I've neglected you way too much."
"No way. How can people say that. I'm already catching side-eye..."
The other streamers participating in Apprentice CK had been grinding practice enthusiastically for quite some time.
On top of that, Kang Nari was a streamer notoriously bad at Triachia among girl cams.
If she didn't start sprinting now, good results were a pipe dream.
Public opinion was all smiles for Im Chan-ho at the moment, but if Kang Nari's performance turned out pathetically unwatchable later...
backlash could blow up for not taking the major content seriously.
So, minimal effort was necessary.
"Huh! Nari ya! Can you hear me? Long time no see. First time since the mixed CK half a year ago?"
"Thanks. Ya ya, really sorry... Been too busy to look after you."
"Huh...?"
"Kyaa! Your game-reading eye's leveled up since I last saw you?"
Normally, there would be viewers uncomfortable with a male and female streamer being this close.
But that only arises if they meet the bare minimum standards.
Im Chan-ho and Kang Nari had nearly a 10-year age gap.
That allowed them to build their friendship freely.
Actually, there was another backstory that Im Chan-ho vehemently denied.
His looks were the type that screamed 'good at games'—utterly non-threatening.
Any audience could watch their collabs with a relaxed mind.
"Come to think of it, I heard you're getting private lessons? From a friend."
"No, no. Not criticizing—what I'm saying is, good on you. That friend's coming today too, right?"
"Ah, yeah. The firepower's insane right now. Good call, ya."
He said this while eyeing the viewer count, which had comfortably surpassed ten thousand.
Since winner Kang Jun-oh had declared a break for the day, most viewers had flocked to Im Chan-ho.
Turn on the stream before the hype died to snag donations? The winner had no need for such gimmicks.
The title of Triachia's top dog carried that much weight.
Even if he streamed in a week, the donations would dwarf what Im Chan-ho got today by several times.
"Then, before your friend shows, wanna quickly check how much you've improved?"
"Sigh, I heard that in the last mixed CK too and got backstabbed..."
In a normal situation, the Apprentice CK balance would have been golden.
Im Chan-ho vying for first place up front, Kang Nari claiming first from behind.
A master-disciple duo reminiscent of that famous French film Untouchable.
But after such long neglect, no viewers held big hopes for Kang Nari.
Im Chan-ho was no different.
No matter the private lessons from some amateur expert, it couldn't compare to a pro gamer's detailed coaching—that conviction was ingrained.
Actually, not a wrong thought. Triachia had a sharper pro-amateur divide than any other game.
The only variable was that Kang Nari's teacher was Yoo Seo-ha.
"Huh? What. You know the 973 Build?"
During a 1v1 skill check in a custom room with shared vision.
A strangely familiar build caught his eye.
"Oh, for real? Optimization's solid for you?"
Six ghouls tenaciously tailed Im Chan-ho's workers milling outside.
Meaning she was conscious of searches.
Im Chan-ho let his workers get nabbed to match Kang Nari's level.
Actually, that alone warranted full marks.
It meant she understood the build's weaknesses and strengths.
But the surprise didn't end there.
"Ghost Ship positioning spot-on... Dragonling poke response solid too?"
Dragonlings packed a punch one-on-one, but numbers were their kryptonite.
The moment they got swarmed by ghouls, they dropped like flies.
Hence, Dragonling pokes aimed for 1v1 matchups by backing into walls and leveraging terrain.
Especially wedging between the ether mine and wall to disrupt the enemy Undead's natural harvest—that was ideal.
Kang Nari was herding her Dragonlings to counter exactly that intent.
"Control's a bit iffy... But clear purpose makes it good. It'll work at your level. I'll let a few more get caught."
Im Chan-ho had gone with a common Dragonkin build versus Undead.
Warrior Residence in the natural, then the upgrade building for defense towers, Dragonling poke at the five-unit timing.
Meanwhile, activating his natural...
The infamous 'Wyvern & Defense Upgrade Dragonling' build.
But the poke was futilely stonewalled.
The perfectly scouted Ghost Ship had tallied her exact Dragonling count.
Kang Nari wasn't fixated on the 973's signature worker count—instead, she'd queued extra ghouls to match the Dragonlings.
Against a perfect scout like that, a five-Dragonling poke was a poor choice.
Of course, your average 1,500-pointers bulldozed ahead regardless, so Im Chan-ho had dialed back his game.
"...Well, look at you."
A satisfied smile crept across his face.
Im Chan-ho had played stiff, like a computer executing commands.
Kang Nari, meanwhile, was wielding the 973 Build's hallmark flexibility to perfection.
Search cut off, poke blocked—now the Dragonkin had no clue if it was Lich or Necromancer next.
Forced into pulling Wyverns while crying.
The rest played out as the textbook demise of a Dragonkin on the wrong end of 973.
Necromancer waves bursting from three resource spots.
Tried holding with the defense tower 'Arcane Launcher',
but ultimately overwhelmed and pushed flat.
Even with near-zero control, aping the brain-dead play of a typical 1,500-pointer, he'd still lost cleanly.
Im Chan-ho let out a small gasp of admiration at Kang Nari's marked improvement.
This exceeded expectations. A bit of polishing, and she could contend for top spots in CK.
"Wow, learned well? Your friend taught you this?"
"Your friend's pretty skilled, huh. What's their rating?"
"...Huh? That's semi-pro level! You have a friend like that?"
"Huh? For real? Beat Sung-jin hyung—in a bo3!?"
"What. Not bullshit—it's legit? Wait, then one was a proper win?"
"......Looks like Sung-jin hyung's form's totally gone off the rails lately?"
"Yaaak!! Kim Sung-jin!! You're the one disgracing ex-pros!! I at least made finals game 7!!!"
"Sung-jin hyung, you watching? Gonna clip this and send, so here's a video letter. Who'da thunk you'd big forfeit to an ammy... As your junior, sadness hits before disappointment. Is that sharp AI Humanity Kim Sung-jin gone forever? *sob...!"
Right as Im Chan-ho was in full swing teasing his senior gamer.
Someone entered the Death Code group chat.
A quick glance: Kang Nari's friend from last night's brief greet,
and one of the two stars of this whole story.
Yoo Seo-ha. Perfect timing.
Well, she'd said she was watching the stream, so probably timed it deliberately.
She seemed to have solid sense.
"Oh! Everyone, right on cue! Hello! Seo-ha-ssi? This fine?"
"Haha! Thanks. But seriously, you beat Sung-jin hyung?"
A troubled tone.
Oh crap. Im Chan-ho panicked a bit.
He'd spotlighted the incident for stream laughs, but for a civilian like her, it could feel burdensome.
Looked like he'd goofed. Im Chan-ho cleared his throat and moved to smooth things over.
"Ahem! Sorry. The person's not here, and we just ran with it on our own?"
"Hm? Then some other issue?"
"Outta nowhere? Lemme think—7, 8 years back? That was peak Sung-jin hyung."
"Yes?"
"Cough! Cough!!"
"Wh-why the emphasis on that one word."
Ah.
So that's what she meant this morning.
Dizziness surged; he clutched his forehead.
No way this was a casual swing? A light jab for greetings??
Yoo Seo-ha's few words had Im Chan-ho on the brink of KO.
And the collab had only just kicked off. Time left was endless.
Could he keep the scratches hidden for the rest of it?
His vision was going dark.