Sniper-Ridden Climb (4)

In the internet broadcasting world, especially among VTubers, there’s a culture considered like a tradition.

Looking back at your first broadcast when you reach your first year debut anniversary.

For most, it becomes content where they can’t bear the embarrassment and scream throughout.

Isn’t that how people are?

Looking back at your immature self, the self from a time you don’t want to recall – it’s accompanied by considerable shame.

Of course, I was no exception.

“Ugh, augh…”

A mental attack that came at an unexpected moment.

I couldn’t speak well due to embarrassment.

My thoughts completely stopped as if my brain had a bug.

In the video, I’m showing my armpit with my arm raised.

Not content with that, I fiddle with my fingers, and the corners of my mouth rise smugly, soaked in alcohol.

The expression with a beaming smile was full of happiness.

Oops.

I was in the middle of a battle.

I missed a timing because my face was burning.

To make matters worse, the dagger’s trajectory twisted slightly, not dealing enough damage to the Qi Master.

The enemy retreated swiftly with a puzzled expression.

“Ah, no… This is cheating, isn’t it?”

– What’s with that voice lol

– Just a female genius

– (This message has been deleted by the administrator.)

– Wow, this house has good reactions

– Virgin behavior

“Please don’t send videos like this. I’ll block you.”

I wonder what was so good about it.

In the video, my voice was coming out gentler than I’ve ever heard myself.

No, well. Actually, it’s not that I really don’t know.

Until just now, I could barely manage my expression at words praising my skills.

To be honest, I didn’t feel entirely bad, thinking they still like me.

Now as before, I needed people’s attention and affection.

Those two were so precious to me that – if given, my heart would melt.

But embarrassing things are still embarrassing.

I didn’t want to keep seeing videos like this.

Thinking about that time… somehow it made me feel a bit strange.

My spine chilled with shame, but conversely, a warm heat rose from my lower abdomen.

This is troublesome. This is my monumental first broadcast now.

I didn’t want to show a disheveled appearance at a moment like this.

I strained my neck and forced out my voice.

“Do you think I’ll lose just because of this?”

Due to missing the timing earlier, the Qi Master was given a chance to counterattack.

A fierce light blue wave flies in.

That color means it’s a skill that spreads wide-area slow with an explosion.

The intention is probably to change the battle structure rather than aiming for immediate big damage.

Can I dodge it with just movement?

It seems a bit late for that.

I need to respond with a skill or block the explosion itself.

There was no need to think complexly.

The opponent is a Qi Master. It’s the class that shines most when hitting shield job classes.

The wave touched the tip of the blade, leaving a precise interval.

A somewhat heavy sensation remained as the parry succeeded. The wave lost its power and disappeared.

I immediately threw a throwing knife, breaking their following offensive once.

Now I should regain control…

「Clavicle Alcohol donated 10,000 won」

「(Attached video: Gawol showing collarbone)」

「Could you please pour a drink here?」

I should regain it, but.

White skin visible in the corner of my vision.

Below the jawline slightly reddened by alcohol, a finely stretched collarbone was revealed.

Did Sansae think this crossed the line too?

The donation was cut off and a 3-hour exile was imposed.

But the memory I’ve already seen didn’t disappear somewhere.

“Haah…”

– Pyapyapyapyapyapyapyapyapya

– No, Your Honor, that woman seduced me first

– (This message has been deleted by the administrator.)

– Seeing her reaction, she seems quite transparent lol

This shouldn’t have been such a difficult battle.

I keep losing advantageous positions as it breaks off one tempo at a time.

The opponent isn’t a fool either, so they didn’t easily let go of these opportunities.

I felt a bit hurt in my pride.

It’s like struggling against a mob, you could say.

They’re not a bad opponent, but not a particularly good one either.

Originally, I would have slashed their lower body and ruined their mobility earlier.

I chewed my lips in frustration.

“Really, really too much…”

This match.

I won’t just end it simply.

* * *

[You have won.]

[Black 68 RP → 89 RP]

As I slightly released the strength in my thighs, the Qi Master’s body collapsed powerlessly.

I lightly push away the body that has become a corpse with my foot.

Only after it lay sprawled on the ground did I feel a bit relieved.

I won.

Thankfully.

“Haah… That was dangerous. Anyway, I succeeded this time too, right?”

[Remaining Health: 100%]

Honestly, there were many crises.

My victory condition for this match wasn’t simply defeating the opponent, but not allowing any hits at all.

Originally, I was planning to make a quick decision with smooth exchanges.

But the power of the video donations was too strong to do that.

The videos coming up should have been just one or two.

Starting with the collarbone, I thought Sansae would take care of it.

Instead, she put her name on the donor list, saying she was setting a ‘standard’.

But they say humans are animals of adaptation.

Even with the constant mental attacks, there came a point where I got used to it after continuously enduring them.

A battle that would have taken less than 3 minutes originally.

From the point I got used to the donations, I completely took control.

Naturally, there was no need to spin the penalty roulette.

– GG

– All the fun is dead

– Boring

– This is staged

– Lie lie lie lie lie lie

“Puhu.”

No matter how much the viewers beg, my heart won’t change.

Rules are rules because they must be followed.

It would be troublesome if I easily broke promises with viewers and gave an impression of being arbitrary.

Beyond the problem of incurring hate, the fun of the broadcast itself could cool down.

So, even my triumphant smile now was all for the broadcast.

As soon as the game ended, I turned off the video donations, so there was no more risk of my mental being attacked.

“You seem to have a lot of complaints. But a promise is a promise, right? I’m also very very sorry to disappoint your expectations – but it can’t be helped.”

However, at this time, I didn’t think of it.

Originally, ranked games are an environment full of variables.

It’s the nature of this field that when the enemy team hits their peak, our team hits their lowest point.

Moreover, I was now in a state of being the target of numerous snipers.

“Th-this… This is, I mean.”

It was when I had steadily built up victories and exceeded 300 RP.

I’m not sure if it was simply bad timing or intentional.

Personally, I think it was close to deliberate.

I’ve submitted a report, so the game company will judge the details.

What’s clear is that it was an ally’s attack, not an enemy’s, that pierced my shoulder.

Moreover, even the timing was quite malicious.

A situation where I couldn’t trust my allies.

To make matters worse, the enemy team users targeted me quite persistently.

It was too naive a judgment to make a 0 death pledge thinking it was still manageable.

[You have won.]

[Black 297 RP → 315 RP]

[Death: 1]

Thanks to the efforts of the snipers – I finally recorded one death.

It was a victory full of wounds.

“Th-this is cheating. I’m telling you I was hit by our team, not the enemy?”

– ???: A promise is a promise.

– ???: You were very very sorry to disappoint the viewers’ expectations.

– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– You have to… spin the roulette, right?

– Sansae: Spin it spin it spin it spin it spin it

The world kept tormenting me.

* * *

Right. Rules are rules.

If you made a promise, you have to keep it.

In the end, I put the penalty roulette on the broadcast screen.

Sansae visible in the chat room was quite hateful.

‘Traitor. You deceived me.’

– You want to put things like this in? It seems a bit… wrong.

– You said you weren’t going to spin it anyway.

– Still, just in case something happens.

– No. It’s better to boldly put things like this in. Wouldn’t that create expectation in the viewers?

– That’s, true.

When deciding on penalties, Sansae quite actively persuaded me.

In the end, I was the one who chose… but originally, people need to know how to blame others moderately to maintain a healthy mind.

Especially for someone with an unclear mind like me, you should blame others as much as you can when you can.

“Anyway, I’ll spin it. I should end the broadcast soon today.”

Seeing the roulette spinning round and round made me feel somewhat tired.

Please, it should be something manageable.

Just in case, I put in a few relatively easy ones.

Things like a dud, or singing a song, I could manage even myself.

Just as the roulette’s speed slowed down, the candidates for penalties started to narrow down.

‘Cam broadcast in school uniform’ was eliminated in an instant.

Instead, the dud or singing that I hoped for were quickly erased from the list.

Even ‘Broadcasting with a collar on’, which was an object of fear, came off the candidate list.

Eating extremely spicy ramen.

Wearing a nurse outfit.

3 hours of chatting broadcast calling viewers “master”.

These terrible ones were eliminated one by one, but my situation didn’t particularly improve.

The final penalty that was selected on the roulette was ‘Revealing cosplay photos’.

I’m not sure exactly which character it will be yet.

“This, needs some preparation. I can’t do it right away. When it’s ready… I’ll do it.”

Now that the penalty has been decided, this is the end.

It really was time to end the broadcast.

I had an ending mention that I had put a lot of thought into.

“I’m going now. This is our ending mention. Ahem. …I love you.”

I’ll always say I love you when ending the broadcast.

Then someone will repeat these words.

If the chat is filled with words of love – I thought I would surely be happy.

– Gasp

– I love you too

– Huk

Ah, this is bad.

I feel like my heart is softening already.