Chapter 62

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 62

Chapter Title: No Conscience?

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1.

"Aigoo, Yayaya! Thanks for the 10,000 gold donation! Carrier... that's the one who collabed with Chef Kang Taeyeon, right? I watched that too!"

A former pro gamer turned streamer, Max. With an average of 2,000 viewers, he was one of the many typical Arena streamers out there.

There were times when his broadcast viewership would skyrocket, and that was during trials.

"But that person is coming to me for a trial? Why on earth? Weren't they doing cooking streams? Why this insane game?"

"Ah, really?"

Max quickly scanned the rising chat to gauge the situation and public opinion.

'Whatever the reason, this is a win for me. If I play this right, I can grow even more here!'

Max had been struggling lately with both his live streams and VTube channel hitting a plateau. And now this opportunity!

'Calm down.'

He took a slow deep breath to settle the excitement bubbling inside.

Overreacting at times like this was a no-go. Staying consistent with his usual self was key.

"Poggers."

Max grinned widely and gave a thumbs up.

"Glad I stuck with pro gaming. The person everyone's talking about right now is coming to me for a trial..."

He clenched his fist, looking deeply moved.

"Hey now, rice farming off trial fees? Don't spread rumors. Everything I've done was for justice."

"It's the results that matter. I haven't made any rulings that couldn't be accepted, right?"

He cleared his throat and averted his gaze slightly.

Right on cue, Max jumped up from his seat at the awaited donation.

"Aigoo! Carrier donated 100,000 won! Thank you so much."

He bowed repeatedly before speaking again.

"A trial, of course possible. I'll send you my friend code via chat. Could you add me?"

Max sent a private chat to Carrier. Soon, a friend request arrived, which he accepted, then immediately invited her to his My Room.

"Invitation sent."

Moments later, three figures emerged from the open portal.

The woman who entered first had a blank expression, and the two men following her looked utterly defeated.

"Hello, Carrier!"

Max approached the woman with a bright smile. She carefully bowed her head.

"Yes. Hello. You're Max, right?"

"That's me. Never imagined I'd meet you like this—it's an honor."

"The honor's mine."

Carrier gave a slight smile, glanced back, cleared her throat, and spoke.

"Standing around talking like this isn't polite. Let's sit."

"Sure. You two, come sit over here."

"...Yes."

The four sat in their preferred spots. The two men sat side by side, while Carrier took a seat alone elsewhere.

"Alright, first let's review the situation. Normally, replays don't save chat, so we'd hear explanations from both sides."

"Yes."

"But Carrier's a streamer, so everything's preserved. Let's watch the footage first. Okay?"

"Fine."

"...Yes, let's do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that."

With both sides agreeing, Max accessed Carrier's channel. Enough time had passed to view the replay.

"Hmm."

After checking only the parts where chat occurred, Max spoke up.

"From what I see, the bot laners started the trash talk first. Correct?"

".........."

The two nodded instead of answering. Their stiff expressions screamed tension.

"Why are you two so scared? Totally different from how you acted in chat."

One spoke awkwardly.

"Actually coming for a trial is nerve-wracking. And we had no idea the opponent was a streamer."

"Hmm, fair enough."

Max nodded sympathetically, then steered back to the main topic.

"You proposed the trial, so you know the rules, but just to be sure."

"Yes."

"I believe the one who starts the fight is at fault. So if it's ambiguous like 5:5, I'll have to side with Carrier. Agree?"

"Agree."

"Yes."

He clapped lightly to shift the mood.

"Good. So what's the issue?"

"Who contributed more to the game's loss."

"We'll judge comprehensively then."

Max's lips curved up naturally. With the issue framed like that, the stream was bound to drag on.

Longer stream? More donations, more clips. All profit for him.

'As long as it's not ridiculously one-sided.'

If it were that overwhelming, they wouldn't have dragged it to trial.

"Amount?"

"2 million won."

The unexpectedly huge amount shocked the viewers.

"2 million won? Are you all loaded? What the heck warrants 2 million..."

Max had run many game trials, but this was his first time seeing this much.

"You two can really afford it, right?"

Carrier was a hot streamer these days, fine. But for regular bot laners, it was burdensome.

"Well..."

Both hesitated. Now that it was time to pay, they wavered.

"We can... afford it."

The two nodded, as if reading chat.

"Got it. Deposit here then. Normally I'd take 20% fee, but not today."

He checked the deposit notice. Total 4 million won.

"Deposit confirmed. Now we'll watch the replay. Carrier's POV first, then bot duo's."

"Okay."

Max conjured a large screen and started the replay.

"Oh."

He gasped, eyes glued to the screen. The top laners' duel was incredibly high-level.

"This mind game level is pro match territory... brutal..."

"Whoa, turning it into a love tap like that? Sense is godlike."

Before he knew it, Max was immersed like a spectator.

'Never thought I'd see this quality in a trial.'

He'd been annoyed by low-level plays lately. But today, this game.

'Blood's pumping after so long.'

How intense must it have been for 2 million and a trial?

Max grew expectant. But it didn't last.

"...Huh?"

While watching laning, bot deaths kept coming. At first, he thought mistakes.

But the deaths didn't stop, and by the end of Carrier's laning, the game was beyond saving.

After finishing the game, Max looked up at the bot duo.

Seeing their eyes mixed with faint hope, he couldn't hold back the words rising in his throat.

"Do you two perhaps have no conscience?"