chapter_0035

35 – The Wound on My Back is the Shame of My Stomach

35 – The Wound on My Back is the Shame of My Stomach

─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─

[Confession] (This post is visible only to the administrator)

[Author: Pino (pin0_live2d)]

The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived. The meerkat has been deceived.

─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─

The confession Pino posted on the detention center bulletin board was akin to the screams of a panicked person, uttered thoughtlessly.

It was merely a string of repeated sentences, yet one could almost see a dark aura slowly rising from it.

“At this level, it’s not just being hit by an 8-ton truck, but a 20-ton dump truck.”

Wondering if that was the case, I took a moment to carefully review my Avatar saved on my phone.

Perhaps because Dora had put so much effort into it, overall, it was beautifully crafted without any flaws.

When draped in a robe and wearing a hat, it resembled a little witch; without them, it looked like a short office worker, which was an amusing gap in the character design.

Did my sensors not react immediately to this?

After all, the owner of the Avatar was Nara, and while the super alloy barrier did come crashing down, others besides me could have easily been hit by a speeding truck.

However, it didn’t seem to be my fault.

I had simply said that I consistently came to work.

The civil war was something Mugeon invited me to, so I just did my best. (I did take a minor revenge, though.)

After that, I was genuinely focused on promoting.

It’s the people who are blocking their ears and insisting it isn’t so.

More than anything, I find this situation a bit frustrating.

Pino, this person, does take on tasks, but every time, he delays and delays for various reasons, only to deliver the results at the last minute, making us anxious as the deadline approaches.

When we entrusted Komari’s rigging to him, our Boss had a tough time.

He would be reachable, but then unreachable.

Even if I told him, he would forget by the next day.

Deadlines seemed meaningless.

So, it dragged on for almost three months before he finally started working.

The surprising part was that despite dragging it out, the actual work was completed in less than a week.

Those who had estimated an average working time of two weeks were quite astonished.

What if the results were done carelessly?

Well, here we have Komari now.

A quiet, serious, yet occasionally expressive cute elf was born from Pino’s hands.

Even the Boss, who had been cursing for three months, let it slide without a word when he saw the quality was perfect.

Of course, that incident repeated itself with Komari’s New Outfit, and now the Boss was exhausted, pondering whether to entrust the next New Outfit to someone else.

Anyway, it was something to be thankful for that such a person was now cooperating.

… For now, I should call him on Cafe Messenger and give him a little scolding.

I know life is tough for him, but that’s his own issue.

[Administrator: Hello]

[Pino: Ah]

[Pino: Administrator]

[Pino: Please save me]

[Pino: Please, I beg you]

[Pino: If I lose Jikwon D like this!!!]

[Pino: That day, the world will just go dark]

The moment I was blocked from Komari’s room, observing Jikwon D also became impossible.

In Parallel, if you get banned from one broadcast, you get banned from all others as well.

[Administrator: Since you’re not an ordinary person, I think we need to discuss the matter with the Boss]

[Pino: Is there a chance the sentence will be increased…]

[Administrator: That could happen, adding a charge for contempt]

[Administrator: I never expected someone I trusted with work would be doing this behind my back]

[Pino: Kyaaaaaaaaaaa]

[Pino: Noooooo]

After a brief pause, the other side started panicking, pleading for mercy.

[Pino: I promise I will work diligently on Parallel’s outsourcing from now on. I will absolutely meet the deadlines, even if it means putting other tasks aside. So please, just give me one more chance. Please, don’t increase the sentence. Please, don’t increase the sentence—]

But I am a merciless judge.

Originally, the sentence was one year, but I reduced it to one week due to the entrapment investigation, right?

Let’s handle this according to the law.

[Administrator: Please wait until the Boss’s verdict is announced]

* * *

I met the Boss in front of the PC room and started with Pino’s story.

“When are you going to write something on the gallery again….”

Starting with scolding me.

As expected of the Boss.

“That way, it doesn’t take much effort and you can catch the bad guys.”

“How unfortunate that it was Pino who got caught…”

“Anyway, I got a promise from him. He said he would meet the deadlines from now on.”

The Boss chuckled as he muttered.

“If he were someone who would keep his promises, he would have done so long ago. Seeing how buried this guy is, it might be more effective for you to show your face on broadcasts periodically. Just keep him banned for seven days.”

However, it seemed he realized he had misspoken, as he flinched and cautiously changed the subject.

“Of course, there’s no need for you to go out of your way to broadcast because of Pino. You never said you were going to broadcast, right?”

“That’s true. Well, I think I will be showing my face on broadcasts more often in the future.”

“Why? Did you set up another broadcast appointment?”

“Komari suggested we do Naore together.”

“Ah, Naore. I guess there hasn’t been anyone from the first generation doing Naore, so Komari must have been feeling a bit disappointed every time.”

After sitting down and finishing the food order, I double-clicked on an icon I usually wouldn’t touch.

[Night of Legends]

The number one game in global market share.

A TPS hero shooting AOS.

However, it was a game I had never played in my life, not even watched a league of.

When Komari would ask if I had been watching while she was broadcasting, I would have no words.

Perhaps because it was a national game, every time there was a Naore broadcast, so many toxic backseat gamers would come that I was too busy focusing on conversation and managing the chat warnings and ban lists to pay attention to the game.

Naturally, the Boss, who assumed I would know how to play the Battle Colosseum, looked puzzled.

“Are you planning to do Naore today?”

“Yes. I want to learn from you, Boss.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t think you’ve done it on broadcast, but have you tried it a few times behind the scenes?”

The Boss blinked.

It seemed hard for him to believe this situation.

“You want me to teach you Naore?”

“Yes.”

The reason the Boss was so flabbergasted was due to our gaming history.

Especially in the Battle Colosseum.

I had always overwhelmed him with my skills whenever I showed up in all the collaborations he had hosted.

Since the Boss liked FPS games, it was only natural for him to play other FPS games.

Whether it was the Teddy Bear League, where small jelly-like dolls fought, or the legendary fighting game called Fighting Spirit.

They seemed like fun games, and whenever the Boss seemed to be struggling, I would immediately target him and pull his hair.

It was probably shocking for the Boss to hear me ask him to teach me something.

“This is really out of the blue.”

“I still have some gaming pride. I don’t want to be scolded by Komari.”

“… You actually managed to say that to me?”

“Because you know, you wouldn’t say anything to me.”

The Boss made a slightly sulky face for a moment, then hesitated as if he wanted to say something but didn’t.

He can be scary when he’s angry, but our Boss is usually this kind.

“Well, Komari does often turn dark when doing Naore… but would she really do that to you?”

“I’m a bit scared of Komari when she’s angry during ranked games.”

One reason Komari’s Naore ranked games became popular was due to her reactions caused by random matchmaking and backstabbers.

Since she is quiet and aims for skillful gameplay, she often shows intense reactions and turns dark due to bizarre actions from allies or opponents.

She doesn’t use profanity or harsh insults, but she’s clever enough to pull off some pretty impressive moves.

Listening to her can drive you crazy.

If I were to team up with her, I would protect the newbies.

But that would only last for about five games.

After that, I would become a newbie thrown into the wild jungle, fearing when the lurking leopard would eat me.

While I was creating my account, the Boss accessed Naore first and asked me.

“Then I need to ask this first. Which champion do you prefer?”

“A champion… in terms of Battle Call, a legend?”

“Battle Call is divided into Assault, Controller, and Supporter. Naore is divided into four classes.”

Siege, Tanker, Dealer, Support.

It was quite similar to Battle Call, but the class ‘Siege’ stood out significantly.

“What does Siege do?”

“You know that Naore is a game where two teams compete to destroy each other’s base, right?”

“Yes.”

“Siege characters are specialized in destroying that base. They endure tower damage that they normally shouldn’t be able to withstand while breaking towers and create paths for the demolition team that spawns periodically from the base to hit the enemy base.”

“Oh.”

It was a rather interesting class.

While I had done similar things in Battle Call with other classes, I had never experienced anything like Siege.

“I’m not very knowledgeable about it either. There are two typical strategies. You can choose characters that help in team fights and break towers while participating in team fights, or you can sneak around and destroy the enemy base while your allies stall for time with insane demolition performance.”

It even looked fun to play.

Even if I didn’t know how to play the game well, it was a class that could lead the game to victory without getting involved in team fights that take time to adapt.

I had some difficulties in teaming up and coordinating with someone.

It was better to roam around and break buildings.

I liked it.

“I want to try Siege then.”

“Siege… let’s see. What would be good for beginners… I haven’t played Siege either, so let me check the champion list…”

It seemed the Boss wasn’t an expert either, as he took a long time to think.

Since I couldn’t just wait idly, I also entered the character creation screen and looked through the Siege class champions one by one.

Then, at the very end of the list, I found a character wielding a very familiar weapon.

A double barrel in each hand, white angel wings sprouting from its back, and a broken halo floating above its head.

Occasionally, a bizarre silhouette behind it would flash, making my heart race for no reason.

And decisively, the character was beautiful.

“What is this character, the double-barreled girl?”

“Oh. Apola? She’s exactly the type I described earlier. The kind that sneaks around and breaks buildings.”

“I want to play this.”

The Boss showed reluctance.

It seemed to be due to the ‘highest’ difficulty level written next to the character description.

“Uh… it might be a bit difficult? Compared to other Siege classes, her body is really weak.”

Even after hearing the Boss’s words, I shook my head.

Once I get attached to a character, whether it’s a bad character or a meta pick, I have to play it to feel satisfied.

“Anyway, isn’t it just about breaking all the buildings to win?”

Moreover, Apola has a special motion for destroying buildings.

She loads special ammo into her shotgun and blows up turrets.

How could I possibly resist this?

“Who knows? Maybe we’ll win right from the first game.”

{{ Defeat! }}

[Team] Actor becomes a genius actor: Apola is really

[Team] Actor becomes a genius actor: She plays like a bug

[Team] Actor becomes a genius actor: Quit the game

[Team] Dodo Bird: F*ck

However, despite starting with confidence, I had to watch as our base was destroyed without breaking a single enemy building.

From the start, my character, Apola, barely survived.

Whenever I rushed to break a tower, a strategic bombing would suddenly drop from the sky and knock me down.

If I tried to go and hit back, two enemies would pop out from somewhere and gang up on me.

The sudden engagements were familiar to someone who had played Battle Call, but not knowing the character or the skills made it incredibly difficult.

Moreover, the enemy wasn’t shooting straight bullets but was using slashing attacks, bomb drops, and area destruction, making it impossible to dodge like in Battle Call.

If only there had been a Smokescreen.

However, I realized something.

Unlike the Battle Colosseum, I had to accurately locate the enemies.

If I encountered them, I needed to know the distance where their arms couldn’t reach to survive.

This was the first trial given to me in my life— I hadn’t adjusted my distance even before picking up the double barrel, making it even harder.

But there was no reason to give up.

After all, it was just the first game, and I was in the process of adapting to the game.

As I prepared for the next game, the Boss cautiously asked,

“I think it would be better to do a tutorial first. I noticed you weren’t using Adaptive Skills at all.”

“Adaptive Skills?”

“… Just turn on the tutorial. It will probably explain it right away.”

Naore has four skills.

Each includes a passive, combat skill, ultimate, and Adaptive Skill.

I thought the structure was the same as in Battle Colosseum, but it turned out there was one more.

This Adaptive Skill is a characteristic that is recorded in real-time, granting one of several options at specific levels.

In other words, if you buy items with the gold you earn to enhance your basic stats,

the Adaptive Skill is like buying skills that help in combat with levels instead of gold.

You can purchase a skill once at level 6, but you have to wait until level 12 or 18 to replace it again.

However, such restrictions meant nothing to me.

Because Apola’s third Adaptive Skill caught my eye immediately.

[Adaptive Skill III – Dark Cloud of the Archangel]

[Creates a cloud that covers the surroundings for 30 seconds, preventing enemies from seeing inside the cloud. Apola is unaffected. *Warning! The Dark Cloud of the Archangel does not block enemy attacks.]

This is a Smokescreen.

It felt like reuniting with a precious lost pet.

Author’s Note (Author’s Commentary)

What if Jia plays like a bug?

Jia Bug ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ