The Saintess's Broadcast Ends in Chaos
The surprise worship was intense. Now that I'd ascended to the heavenly realm, the mind games felt noticeably fiercer. But since Virtual Arena was still only a three-to-four-year-old game, and even the pros were just in their first year of the professional league, I hadn't encountered any amateurs or professionals with truly flawless macro yet.
The fact that I hadn't run into any of the absolute top-tier pros like the Lafez or Blian I'd met before probably played a part too. On top of that, in low tiers my teammates didn't even know the first letter of "macro," so I'd usually just crushed games with pure mechanics. In high tiers, where my allies at least understood the "ma" in macro, my greatest strength—my brain—could finally shine. Strangely enough, it actually felt easier.
Of course, the Church didn't seem to think so at all. To make matters worse, with my first face reveal layered on top of everything, the chat window was descending into pure pandemonium.
Of course, I was a little curious about how people would react when my face reveal and Challenger achievement happened at the same time, so I may have timed it on purpose...
Even though I'd slowed the chat earlier, the messages seemed to be flying up even faster now. When I sneaked a glance at the viewer count...
Live Chat
I spent a moment quietly savoring the chat that looked ready to explode at any second.
Hmm... what if I just ended the stream here?
I grew curious about what kind of reaction they'd show. Was this how reporters felt right before dropping a bombshell...? It didn't take long to turn that curiosity into action.
"Alright everyone. It seems you've all had plenty of time to admire the view, so I'll be taking my leave now?"
I gave them a special wink designed to keep me lingering in their thoughts even after the broadcast ended, then turned off the camera.
Live Chat
As expected, the chat was exploding, but one comment had guessed correctly.
"You're really ending the stream just like this?"
Live Chat
Hmm... I wasn't actually tired at all, but maybe I should use that as an excuse?
"Yes, well... thank you all for your consideration. Then I'll really be going now?"
I ended the broadcast and Virtual Arena without any lingering attachment and stepped out of the capsule. Almost like clockwork, my sister called me immediately.
"Hello?"
She got straight to the point with a single proposal.
"Sera. I'm currently talking with someone who could be useful as our performance analyst. But this person really wants to meet you. If you're okay with it, would you come over?"
Wait... this suddenly?
"Hold on, you mean you brought them all the way home without even asking for my consent...?"
I raised a perfectly reasonable question, but her following words only made the situation more confusing.
"No? This isn't our house though?"
"Huh...? But you didn't say you were going somewhere else."
"That's right. I didn't go far at all, did I?"
My sister had always hated being away from my side, so she usually handled everything from home. Even when she had no choice but to go out, she would leave a note in front of the capsule or at least send a text beforehand. That was why this felt even more suspicious.
"I'll send you the location, so just follow it. See you soon."
I figured I'd only understand what was going on once I got there. When I checked the location she sent, I immediately understood why she hadn't left any messages.
It's really close...
Any thoughts about needing to take a taxi vanished. The distance was so short I could reach the destination in just a few steps. The place I arrived at was a mansion that looked similar to our house but slightly smaller.
"Is this... some kind of second house or something...?"
I was starting to wonder what exactly she'd been doing in this world to become this wealthy.
* * *
The moment I pressed the doorbell, my sister quickly came out to greet me at the gate and led me inside. The person I met within the mansion had a somewhat familiar face.
"Whoa... it's really the Saintess..."
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you."
But everything—his expression, his attitude—was completely different from the person I remembered.
Park Seongjun... right? I remember him not being this kind of person.
The Park Seongjun in my memory was the very definition of "I alone am supreme under heaven." He was an arrogant player who always carried himself with the belief that he was the best. No matter what, he always seemed dissatisfied with something. He changed teams every one or two years like it was nothing, and his inflated contract value was high enough to rank in the top three for his in-game position at the time.
Of course, his skills matched his arrogance—he was top tier. But in the end, just like me, he retired without ever winning Worlds. I even remembered facing him in the 2025 Worlds, right before my retirement.
2025 World Championship Quarterfinals
MCK#2 ZX 3 : 1 AVL MCK#4
Back then, Park Seongjun had been the jungler for the super team ZX. He and his teammates, who were all at their absolute peak that season, had dominated. But in crucial matches, he would collapse miserably alongside the mid laner. After beating us in the quarterfinals, ZX lost 3-2 to GOD in the semifinals.
To think the guy who always looked like he'd been chewing on shit after every loss is now acting this submissive... Is it because this is before his professional debut?
Even while I continued speaking to him with a somewhat cold demeanor, his eyes never lost their spark.
Hmm... maybe I was too cold to someone who hasn't become that person yet.
Wait, but why is Oh Seeun being relatively kind to him? Why am I the only one getting this treatment...?
"And I didn't mention this earlier, but... do you happen to know about the Saintess Loyal Guard Gallery...?"
Oh no...
"I'm the one who created it... I was active under the nickname Pope... and the person who first spoke to you during your debut broadcast was also me."
Ah... so that person was Park Seongjun too? The guy who used to spam the Saintess Loyal Guard Gallery with cringy praise posts and worship me every day was actually this arrogant, stuck-up Park Seongjun?
...That was quite the shocking revelation.
"I guess... it must have been a bit burdensome?"
"Ah, no... I was just a little surprised."
Yeah. Just like I said, I was genuinely shocked right now. The person I remembered as someone who acted like an asshole to everyone no matter who they were had suddenly started worshipping someone? And that someone was me? It was hard to process.
Still, setting aside how surprising it was, since my sister had brought him, his abilities were probably just as good as in my previous life. At this point, his personality didn't seem like it would cause any particular problems.
"Then... you'll be hiring me as the performance analyst...?"
Hmm... My sister must have already agreed, right? Just to be sure, I glanced at her, and she gave a small nod as expected.
"Yes. Let's work well together from now on."
I extended my hand as I spoke.
"Wow... yes...! I'll do my absolute best! Saintess!"
His hand trembled as he shook mine. Even though he looked like he might float away at any moment, a single tear rolled down from his eye.
"Wait... is it really that good?"
I couldn't help but feel a little flustered by his reaction.
"Yes... it's a bit awkward to bring up such a sensitive topic, but if I explain one by one... first, my financial struggles, my personal housing, and even my job have all been resolved..."
"But more than anything..."
"More than anything?"
He let out a small sigh and continued.
"The fact that I get to work with the Saintess I respect the most... makes me incredibly happy..."
Uh... why is this guy acting like this? The disconnect from the Park Seongjun I knew was so strong it was causing serious cognitive dissonance.
"Uh... um... I see...?"
In the end, I was so flustered that my reaction came out like a broken robot. He was so excited that he seemed to be crying too hard to even hear me properly. Meanwhile, my sister was wearing a somewhat sinister smile as she diligently took pictures of my flustered expression.
"Hey... what are you doing?"
"Recording our expressionless Saintess's rare emotional moments."
Ha... why is everyone around me like this? I suddenly felt like going back home and just playing games again.