Newbie... Right? (2)

Battle Island Minor Gallery.

A single post with a video attached went up on that corner of the internet, part of the biggest community site in the country.

[Have you guys ever seen anything like this?]

Most people figured it was either a fishing post or one of those tired, overused bait topics, but a few users clicked out of habit anyway. After watching the contents, they left comments.

- Damn it, I really thought this was an in-game clip lol

- Did you make this yourself? The video quality’s ridiculously high.

- Is this the official ambassador for dual pistols? Dude looks so cool lmao

- Not some fake edit or anything, it’s a stream clip

The poster told the truth, but nobody believed him. They just marveled at how well-made the video was.

- I feel like there used to be a character like that in old PC games. Probably copied that?

- He just spins around firing a gun and everyone dies lol

- Die! Die! Die!

- lol Have you tried Overclock?

- How the hell would I play some boomer game like that lol I looked it up and it shut down when I was still in elementary school.

- Shit, I thought he was just reciting lines because he knew them

- It looks like the highlight reel from a movie. The poster must be some kind of video production pro?

- No, seriously, that’s actual gameplay. I’m telling you, he’s live right now!

Frustrated, the poster even dropped the broadcast link.

Since fake links and bait like this were so common, everyone was suspicious at first and quickly lost interest. But there were always a few brave idiots who couldn’t resist curiosity.

- You’ve gotta lie with a little style if you want people to enjoy it as a joke.

- This is Choi Pinam’s stream. He’s decent, sure, but not to the point of filming a mad movie like that.

- They don’t even look alike, lol

- Wait, the same guy from the video is on stream? Looks like he’s in a duo?

- I’m watching and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠atmosphere is insane. The room’s freaking out;;

A handful of gallery users followed the current and ended up entering the stream itself.

- Looks like it really was from the actual broadcast?

- Who is this guy? He’s completely insane??

- I’ll make this short. Don’t regret it later—go watch the stream. I’m gonna focus on this side now, peace.

One by one, people began chattering as though they were live-reporting the whole thing along with the poster.

That was the moment Yeongho’s existence began spreading in earnest across the internet.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Oh? Looks like we won.”

“R-right... Geez. This is...”

Seeing the first-place notification appear, Choi Pinam let out a hollow laugh.

Because Battle Island was a VR game designed to feel close to reality, a single match could easily run long.

That was why the game had adopted the radiation spread rule as one of its systems to prevent matches from dragging.

The faster the number of eliminated players increased, the faster the radioactive zone spread.

- That ending was way too anticlimactic lol

- The match ended before I even saw an opponent lol

When the final safe zone remained, there had still been five survivors besides Choi Pinam and Yeongho. Yet somehow, despite everyone having been smart enough to claim good positions in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠advance, they’d all failed to escape the radiation zone, and death logs began popping up one after another until first place was confirmed.

It was the massacre caused by Yeongho’s dual-pistol spray in the earliest part of the match. Those initial death counts snowballed, and because he kept aggressively hunting players afterward, the radiation spread far faster than in a normal game, killing off the remaining survivors before they could catch the timing of the move.

- By the way, Godfather’s shooting is seriously unreal.

- Reopen his profile record. It feels like almost none of his bullets miss.

- Were all the previous matches like this too? Whoa...

- I was talking trash because I thought he was some petty little prick. I’m sorry, Godfather-nim T_T

Now that the match was over, the chat was plastered with praise.

In the opening duel with the couple, plenty of people had called it luck.

Then, after Yeongho’s spraydown in the city, some even suspected the stream was playing a manipulated video.

But by the end, most viewers were spitting praise like they couldn’t help themselves, showering Yeongho’s skill with admiration.

“Ah, this feels weird. You guys never seem this fired up when I’m doing well.”

- lol It’s because you’ve never done this well before

- Who the hell is Choi Pinam? Move aside, I’m here to watch Godfather’s stream!!

- Seriously, wasn’t the performance he showed this round good enough to bulldoze every pro in Battle Island?

- The Great Godfather went 27 kills and hard-carried, while Choi the Loser rode the bus with 3 kills lol

- I watch pro streams a lot, and I’ve never seen anyone in this kind of form.

- Look at this guy bringing up pros again. He was good, sure, but he just farmed scrubs in public matches.

The chat scrolled so fast it was almost impossible to read.

Even though the guest had swallowed up most of the spotlight, Choi Pinam was the host, and he had to steer the broadcast as best he could.

Feeling the need to freshen the mood, he rolled his eyes around for a second and then spoke up in a hurry.

“Hah, this is what, NTR or something? I really thought our viewers had pure hearts, but I am deeply disappointed!”

- lol but Godfather’s technique is so intense I can’t hold it in...!

- lol How am I supposed to resist when he keeps shoving it into the sensitive spots(=the weak points) one after another?

- If I hadn’t known before, it’d be fine, but now that I’ve experienced a new kind of stimulation, what am I supposed to do? lol

- Sorry... I’ve decided to switch over to the older guy now, so let’s not meet anymore...

“Switch over to what? He’s not even a streamer, he’s just an ordinary guy! No, forget that—if you’re leaving, at least send money first. Whoa, look at those mission amounts, they’ve gotten huge~”

Still grumbling, Choi Pinam opened the mission window and broke into a bright grin.

Even after only selecting the missions they’d completed and pressing the claim button, coins came pouring in.

He had made over ten thousand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠coins from just one game’s missions alone, which was an incredible result even considering he was a fairly well-known streamer.

And since viewers had also sent plenty of donations here and there, the total was quite substantial once everything was added up.

“Whoa~ Hyeong-nim! We’ve already made this much!”

“Wow, amazing... Thank you, everyone. I’ll work even harder.”

“Oh, right. Today’s profits are being split exactly fifty-fifty with Godfather-nim here, so I hope you’ll all keep the donations coming without hesitation. Seriously, isn’t his skill worth every penny?”

- Money-grubber Choi lol;;;

- Damn, I really thought 30 kills was safe profit T_T

- Honestly, I thought 20 kills might happen, but 30 was insane;;

- Even in high-rank smurf content, it’s rare to see a kill count like that.

- And Choi Pinam’s 3 kills are a 10% cut lol. Give 90% of the settlement to Godfather!!

“No, last match I was just giving our Hyeong-nim some room to shine. It was his first appearance, so I had to make a good picture, right? This round, I’m carrying, so watch closely!”

- He can’t even talk properly lol

- We’re watching

At that moment, a mission alert appeared, and Choi Pinam, who had been about to queue again, paused and called out to Yeongho.

“Uh, Hyeong-nim? Someone wants us to try 2-person squads. Is that okay?”

“Yes. If the viewers want it, I don’t mind.”

“Whoa~ so that’s what it takes to win over viewers? If you were a streamer, my entire room would’ve been robbed clean today. Anyway, then let’s get moving!”

Entering a mode built for four-person squads with only two people.

Obviously, the difficulty shot up compared to duo mode.

Of course, that hardly mattered to Yeongho, who had already experienced squad mode when he played with his son.

To be honest, he still hadn’t felt the game was difficult at all.

When he could see the enemy’s movement clearly and every shot he fired hit a vital point, how could it possibly feel hard?

Even in the squad mode that followed, Yeongho’s performance never changed.

But a crisis did arrive.

Tak-tak-tak! Boom!

Bang!

“Tsk! Those bastards are teaming!”

Choi Pinam’s voice rang out, thick with swear words.

There were nine survivors left.

Besides the duo, there was one four-person team and one three-person team remaining.

But in the final safe zone, it seemed the opposing teams they’d run into had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠formed an unspoken alliance.

Maintaining only the bare minimum of caution toward each other, they focused all their attacks on this side.

Maybe they thought it was better to wipe out the smaller target first. Or maybe the kill log they’d built up on the way here had made them wary.

Either way, it was a miserable situation from the duo’s point of view.

With the two teams taking turns firing and pushing hard, the numerically disadvantaged pair had no choice but to get cornered little by little.

- Yeah, this is tough

- Doesn’t look like they’ll win this one.

- Those assholes are teaming against two people, what the hell.

The chat, too, seemed to think that no matter how incredible the shooting was, there was nothing to be done about this.

Under those awful conditions,

“Hoo—”

Yeongho exhaled a long breath and slowly closed his eyes.

Something different from before was beginning to circulate around him.