Chapter 23: Heretic Just Wanted to be Number One!

Heretic was experiencing something like this for the first time in her life.

『─ The entire universe is whispering to me!』

《Attack Failed!!!》

[– 2nd place loser, 2nd place loser~! 2nd place loser, 2nd place loser~! 2nd place loser, 2nd place loser~!]

[– Ah~~~ How strange? If it goes according to calculations, you should win? Ah~~~ How strange? If it goes according to calculations, you should win?]

[– Is it really possible to win this?]

[– Did you crash and burn again, Heretic? Lol. Did you crash and burn again, Heretic? Looooool.]

Heretic had serious issues with her self-esteem.

The fundamental reason she became good enough at drawing to create a virtual avatar was simply because she ‘didn’t want to hear people say she couldn’t draw.’

The reason she started game broadcasting was also because she initially didn’t want to hear her acquaintances say she was bad at games, so she studied hard and discovered she had a better understanding than she thought.

In the internet world, she was often ignored with comments like “who cares about that obscure person”, but at least after debuting as the VTuber ‘Heretic,’ she had never been so openly ignored and ridiculed as she was today.

No, even looking back at her entire life, there had never been a day she felt as crappy as today!!!

“Get… out!! Get out!!! How many do I have to ban before you stop coming!! Why, why are there so many!!!”

【Viewer Count : 5,783】

Heretic’s broadcast was on fire, regardless of her wishes.

In fact, for anyone even slightly interested in Galaxy Train, the current situation was bound to be incredibly entertaining.

[– Said you’d hit legend today~ Said you’d hit legend today~ Said you’d hit legend today~]

[– How strange, you said you could definitely break through if Iines wasn’t there…]

[– Hmm… If it were me, I’d at least fck over 3rd place to get some victory points.]

[– Lol, isn’t this actually 1st place doing WWE with her?]

Unlike clan wars, the glory of PVP is given to only one person.

And that battle is a story so distant it’s jokingly called the ‘War of the Stars.’

Anyone playing Galaxy Train might be interested in who will take 1st place in the Colosseum, but it’s hard to witness that scene directly.

But today is different!

“I’ve calculated it, and I can definitely break through! Everyone, look! LaBelleAr doesn’t have Iines, right?! Since we’re using the same Saren, if my Saren is faster and acts first, I can definitely win!”

Iines and Saren were different breeds.

Iines was a 5-star, Saren a 4-star!

No matter how much she set it up, Heretic couldn’t act first because of Iines’s passive.

But what about now?

Since they were both using the same Saren, whether one could get the first turn or not depended on who had farmed ‘Arcanas’ more diligently.

[– But you haven’t gotten it even once, have you?]

[– Even I can get 1st place in my imagination by opening Excel lol]

[– No, try getting the first turn even once before you talk, Heretic lol]

[– Streamer-nim~ Streamer-nim~! You’ve been fantasizing like crazy since earlier, but you haven’t broken through even once.]

“No, this… How much Arcana farming have I…”

Heretic opened Saren’s character window to show her Arcana farming status but then stopped.

‘These people probably don’t even play Galaxy Train anyway! There’s no need to explain it to them!’

Heretic snorted and fiddled with her attack party.

“If I change the Light Cone to this, the buff gets a bit worse…”

Wanting to get the first turn somehow, Heretic replaced the Light Cone equipped by ‘Saren’ with another one.

[– You’ll definitely get the first turn with this, right?]

[– What’s changing that going to do? Looooool.]

[– But you lose 22% attack increase lol]

[– Still, since Ha Eun-rich is max limit broken and max refined, won’t she definitely win if she just attacks?]

“Really… LaBelleAr! You!! Don’t put Iines in!”

Heretic shouted pitifully and refreshed.

Kwon Se-ah’s defense party was, of course, the same.

【LaBelleAr】

《Defense Formation》

「Ha Eun-rich」「Saren」「Irel」「Omega」

Heretic gulped hard and once again attacked Kwon Se-ah’s defense party.

【Heretic】

《Attack Formation》

「Ha Eun-rich」「Saren」「Brynhilde」「Hecate」

‘My party can definitely win if it can hit the other side even once! If Ha Eun-rich just gets the enemy’s energy below 50%, Hecate’s passive will activate and definitely wipe them out!’

Heretic screamed internally, wishing for the game’s loading to finish.

[– Huh???]

[– What!]

[– No ]

[– Did you finally get the first turn????]

“Ah, yessss!!!”

The moment the battle began, unlike before, Heretic’s ‘Saren’ immediately used her ultimate.

『─I will protect it! Space Bright Force!』

Ha Eun-rich’s ultimate gauge immediately became 100%.

“See! I was right, wasn’t I! Without Iines, she’s honestly nothing!”

Heretic sneered.

“Hey! LaBelleAr!!! Now that you’ve spent 1 million won and your defense party has been breached, think about putting Iines back in while kicking your blankets in frustration!”

Since Ha Eun-rich’s gauge was at 100%, she could use her ultimate at any time she wanted, regardless of her speed.

Since the Colosseum battle proceeded purely 100% automatically without any player intervention, it was natural for Ha Eun-rich to use her ultimate.

Now, as Heretic calculated, Kwon Se-ah’s party would be at least near death, if not wiped out.

Even if they were near death, Heretic’s ‘Hecate’ would activate her passive and wipe out the remaining enemies.

That was how it was supposed to be.

『─This is a burden I must bear!』

“Uh… What? Why, why is Irel using her ultimate first?”

Contrary to Heretic’s calculations, Kwon Se-ah’s ‘Irel’ suddenly used her ultimate first.

A powerful ‘shield’ enveloped Kwon Se-ah’s entire party, and then Heretic’s Ha Eun-rich launched her ultimate.

[– Wow]

[– Perfect block~~~~]

[– Half the shield is still remaining???]

[– You said you’d win if you got the speed first~ You said you’d win if you got the speed first~~!]

Contrary to Heretic’s calculations, her Ha Eun-rich couldn’t deal proper damage to Kwon Se-ah’s party.

『─ The entire universe is whispering to me!』

《Attack Failed!!!》

[– Failed again~~~!]

[– Let’s just go to sleep now, Heretic lol]

[– No matter how I think about it, you can’t break through this lol]

[– Irel’s shield is so fcking broken, can you even win???]

“Ah, no… What. Don’t tell me…”

Heretic rubbed her face with both hands.

“This crazy btch, don’t tell me she max-refined I-Irel’s exclusive Light Cone?!”

Heretic screamed genuinely and hurriedly checked Irel’s exclusive Light Cone, of which she only had one.

【Oath of Glory! (5-star, Preservation)】

「Increases wearer’s DEF by 44%.」

「When an opponent uses a critical attack or ultimate, recovers wearer’s Ultimate Energy by 20%.」

Since Heretic’s Oath of Glory! was only 1 copy, her ultimate energy recovered by a mere 20%.

“This… If it’s max refined… it’s 100% recovery, isn’t it?”

Heretic, with a dazed expression, opened Excel.

[– What is this lol? Why is she suddenly calculating again?]

[– Denial immediately On~]

“This… I absolutely, ca-can’t break through it…!”

Heretic screamed genuinely.

Irel’s ability to attack enemies was neutered, but her shield alone had an absurdly high scaling, to the point of being apologetic!

“Th-this…! To use this trash character, who can do nothing but shield, in PVP, h-how many times did she f*cking roll on the standard banner!?”

The standard banner was a trash can itself that absolutely no one would spend money on if they had even a 1% understanding of Galaxy Train’s business model.

The characters from the standard banner would pop out even if you didn’t want them with a 50% chance from the ‘Character Limited Banner’ anyway.

The trash that popped out with a 50% chance for people who wanted Seren and Ha Eun-rich were the stars of the standard banner!

[– She rolled on the crazy standard banner?]

[– Wow lol, so that’s why she’s 1st place.]

[– She’s just a f*cking psycho, why spend money on the standard banner???]

[– Aren’t the characters from the standard banner just trash that spooks you?]

Kwon Se-ah had stuck her hand into the trash can that everyone was shouting was crazy.

“This… Why, why pull for this! Why pull! What kind of idiot spends money on this!!! Even if you hit the pity on this, the chance of getting what you want is less than 5%!”

Kwon Se-ah just pulled it.

She spent money and pulled it.

[LaBelleAr has donated 1,000,000 won]

[Should I take Irel out too?]

“Th-this… Sht…”

[– What’s with the 2 million won???]

[– Lol, today’s humiliation is fcking legendary lol]

[– Hey, at this point, just be satisfied with 2nd place! You’ve already gotten more than the 1st place reward.]

[– If it were me, I would have just bowed and said, “Hyung-nim! I’m sorry.”]

Heretic, sweating profusely from her armpits, chest, forehead, and neck, agonized.

‘Absolutely not, absolutely not, absolutely not, absolutely not, absolutely not!!!’

She was being offered to have Irel removed too, but she couldn’t refuse it again.

Heretic couldn’t answer and, burning with inferiority, pressed refresh.

【LaBelleAr】

《Defense Formation》

「Rina」「Saren」「Nanaka」「Omega」

[– Wow lol, this is just humiliation, isn’t it?]

[– Can’t break through that? Even I think I could break through it.]

[– The only preservation character is Nanaka?]

[– Wow lol, no abundance either, isn’t this just an open deck at this point?]

[– This is just a gimme ㅉㅉ]

“Th-this… Sht! Looking at people like they’re complete pushovers!!! Hey! LaBelleAr!!! You!! I’m going to break this right away, so change back to the previous party immediately!!”

Without Irel, there was no way her attack party would lose.

Heretic, burning with anger, frantically pressed the attack button.

『─I will protect it! Space Bright Force!』

As soon as the battle began, Heretic’s Saren immediately used her ultimate.

[– This is no fun lol]

[– It’s just Heretic’s Ha Eun-rich thumping and Hecate hitting and it’s over.]

[– Tsk tsk, don’t think about getting a taste of 1st place by being handed this.]

Even the viewers were teasing Heretic, Kwon Se-ah’s defense party looked surprisingly bad by normal standards.

“Uh oh oh…?”

But who was Kwon Se-ah?

Wasn’t she a monster who went into the giant trash can called the ‘standard banner’ that no one entered, shouted ‘This is delicious?!’, and enjoyed pulling like crazy?

『─Sometimes, I need to get serious! 』

Kwon Se-ah’s ‘Nanaka’ suddenly used her ultimate faster than Heretic’s Ha Eun-rich.

Arrows of ice instantly swept through Heretic’s party.

【Freeze!】【Freeze!】【Freeze!】【Freeze!】

《Ha Eun-rich cannot use her ultimate!》

[– Freeze????]

[– Are you crazy? Wasn’t this not supposed to apply???]

[– Didn’t she just stack a sht ton of Effect Hit Rate from Arcanas???]

[– This is really just humiliation, isn’t it???]

[– They’re all frozen, right? Can’t act, right? Lol. Even with 500 billion % ultimate gauge, you can’t do anything, right?]

Heretic, with a dazed expression, watched her party get coolly wiped out.

“Uh… This… Uh, no…”

Heretic’s mind went completely blank.

“Who… rolls a defense party like this? Why would you deliberately give Irel’s exclusive Light Cone to Nanaka, freeze the entire attack party, and then burn them to death with Rina…”

This was a crazy stunt that only Kwon Se-ah could pull off in Galaxy Train right now.

After about a year, most users could try it for fun, but it was something that couldn’t be done now.

“Who! Who! Who! Who rolls a party like this!!!”

Heretic was so frustrated that she started to cry.

“Th-this… Sht… Sh-sht…! What are you! What the hell! Can’t you see this?! From 2nd to 10th place! No! Up to 100th place! Everyone’s party is pretty much the same, so why are you the only one so f*cking different!!!”

Kwon Se-ah’s crazy spending spree was too far removed from what was called the ‘meta.’

So Heretic couldn’t calculate it.

It was impossible to predict this when she was doing a solo circus with characters and Light Cones that no one else used in the first place.

“It’s unfair… Unfair…! Ugh, waaaaaah…!!!”

[– Is she really crying?]

[– No lol, is she crying because she couldn’t get 1st place? Looooool.]

[– Earlier, you said you’d definitely get 1st if Iines wasn’t there lol]

[– Wow, she’s really crying her eyes out]

[LaBelleAr has donated 1,000,000 won]

[It was fun. Let’s play again next time.]

Kwon Se-ah truly donated a total of 3 million won today with a grateful heart.

From her perspective, Heretic was a very, very, very grateful person.

Every time Heretic agonized and whined that she couldn’t break through the deck, her heart tingled.

When she was humiliating her using Irel and Nanaka, the reactions in her imagination amplified tenfold and burst out, to the point where she even got up from her chair, clapped, and laughed.

So, she was truly grateful and happily sprinkled 3 million won.

“Th-this… You son of a b*tch!!!”

Unfortunately, from Heretic’s perspective, Kwon Se-ah’s actions didn’t feel like ‘kindness’ at all, but rather humiliation.

[– She immediately rage quit lol]

[– Hmm, if it were me, I’d be happy to receive 3 million won.]

[– Wow, she’s playing with people with money lol]

“Take it! Take it all! Take it back!! I’ll refund you, so get lost!! Never come to my broadcast again!! I’m going to ban you! It’s a ban! Ban!! A permanent ban!!!”

Heretic couldn’t contain her anger and threw her wireless mouse on the floor.

***

“Sh*t… It must be a rich, fat, creepy-looking 40-year-old man…”

Heretic, fuming, grabbed her tablet with both hands and threw herself onto the bed.

After being thoroughly humiliated by Kwon Se-ah’s unintentional actions, she had desperately tried to climb to 1st place afterwards, but it was impossible.

【Heretic】

「Master V」

〔Rank : 2〕

『Victory Points 8,235』

“What’s with the 1,000 point difference in victory points…”

Heretic hugged her tablet with both hands, sniffled, and touched the screen.

Because she wanted to be 1st place more than anyone, the mere thought of Kwon Se-ah’s existence made her feel bad.

“Huh…?”

《Accept friend request?》

【LaBelleAr – Lv. 61】

“Ugh, really…!!!”

As soon as Heretic saw the friend request sent by Kwon Se-ah with good intentions, she cursed.

And fuming, she was about to tap Kwon Se-ah’s ID and block her.

“…What? Why is her FID like this?”

《LaBelleAr – FID : 600000003》

Heretic, who had touched it with the intention of blocking, gulped hard.

“Right, something was strange… She wasn’t an ordinary user. Now, now I finally get it… So that’s why she infinitely rolled on the standard banner too?”

FID was a kind of social security number given to players in Galaxy Train.

The ‘6’ at the very beginning was a number that classified the country, and what was important was the number at the end.

‘600000003’ meant that Kwon Se-ah’s account was the ‘3rd’ one created on the South Korean server.

Logically, such an account would inevitably look like a ‘test account’ to an ordinary user.