Streamer Crazy About Slaughter - Chapter 26

After Jinsung left, Sua hesitated for a moment, then mustered her courage, firmly grasping my hand and opening her mouth.

“Do you, um, know about Another World!?”

“…?”

I was surprised by the sudden mention of Another World, but Serin soon became lost in thought.

She was the topic of discussion in the “Another Level” veteran community site.

Recently, there was also a statement from the game company regarding accusations related to her, which had been at the top of another community site.

Moreover, she had appeared in a live-streamed broadcast by the Twitty streamer Hana, which had 20,000 viewers at that moment.

Perhaps this person named Sua in front of her might know about her.

That thought crossed her mind.

Even though it had become quite a topic… the thought that someone might recognize her on the street was something Serin couldn’t bring herself to consider.

No matter how famous the game was, it was still just a “game.”

The idea that all the ordinary people outside knew about it was almost an illusion.

Living in reality, Serin, who had experienced social life, understood that there was no time to play games.

But to think that someone would recognize her after just wandering outside?

“That… it’s a virtual reality game, right?”

Serin cautiously replied, hoping against hope.

“Oh, you know about it! That’s a relief. Serin, do you perhaps know about the user named Lin, who has been in the spotlight recently? Ah, wait a moment!”

While speaking, Sua suddenly stopped mid-sentence and urgently manipulated her phone, starting to search for a video on NewTube.

Once NewTube was up, she clicked on the ‘Liked Videos’ section in the top left menu, and videos related to the user Lin filled her phone’s display.

This indicated that Sua had only watched videos about the user Lin recently.

[User ‘Lin,’ certified by the administration as a crazy physical user, is a new ranker?]

[Is it correct to say he did four airborne parries? Is this really a person? Do you know the user ‘Lin’ who has become a topic!?]

[User ‘Lin’ has been suspected as a hacker among countless users in Another World; a complete analysis of his skills and character!]

Each title of the videos was highly sensational, with even some well-known NewTubers from Another World involved, clearly showing their strong will to not miss out on the view counts at this moment.

However, in Sua’s eyes, none of that mattered. She was merely pondering what video would be appropriate to show Serin.

Depending on the video she chose to show, Serin might see her in a strange light, and that thought made selecting a video feel delicate.

Ultimately, Sua clicked on the video featuring Lin the most.

“Serin, this is sudden, but could you watch this video for me?”

Sua’s voice faltered as she spoke.

Still, to dispel the suspicion against her, it was probably fastest to confirm with her own eyes, so she cautiously extended her phone.

Watching in silence, Serin received the phone from Sua and stared at the distorted video.

Without realizing it, Serin’s eyes widened slightly.

—Dodging projectiles from the archer class at this angle by merely turning one’s head is a pattern often seen when a ‘Gosu’ ranked user toys with a ranged class. User Lin probably imitated that. If you observe Lin’s gaze, you’ll see he doesn’t take his eyes off the crossbow from start to finish.

Serin had half-expected to see her own footage in the video.

However, the more she watched the distorted video, the less she liked it.

‘Imitating.’

The sight of user Lin completely analyzing ‘Gosu’ and showcasing it elicited some admiration.

‘The four airborne parries were probably half luck.’

The things she heard in the video felt odd.

“…”

“…?”

As Serin continued to watch the video, Sua blinked in blank disbelief.

After briefly viewing the video through the phone she handed over, not a single word like ‘Ah, that’s so similar to me,’ or ‘What’s wrong with this?’ or ‘This is me,’ came out. The silver-haired woman Serin merely looked on with interest.

Feeling hesitant to speak first, Sua carefully took a sip from the mocha latte set before her and waited for Serin to speak.

—To be honest, the skill gap between Hana and Lin in the duel scene is quite significant. It seems that Hana used a crescent moon blade tied to her arm to execute techniques, but the remarkable part is that she deliberately slowed down the speed of her moves. Wow, that’s a clear intention to toy with the opponent. Is it evil, or from the chat logs in Hana’s broadcast, it appears that user Lin has quite a poor character…

‘No way, is there suddenly talk about my character?!’

“No!”

Serin spoke loudly in surprise, not knowing she had reacted that way.

“Cough, cough!”

Sua, startled while carefully sipping her mocha latte, momentarily choked. As she pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth, she cautiously glanced at Serin.

‘Is the video that interesting…?’

As if forgetting her own existence, Serin was continuing to focus solely on the video.

Just like Sua thought, Serin was truly immersed in the video.

She was trying to express that she wasn’t a hack user by purposely using techniques slowly.

Yet, the video portrayed her as a truly malicious user, seemingly playing around with the streamer Hana.

Finding it too absurd to keep watching, Serin’s gaze suddenly shifted to the view count beneath the video.

—View count: 862,532.

She had infused her own subjectivity into making this NewTube video. Was this view count accurate?

‘Over 800,000 people have watched this video…?’

Then what happened to her image?

‘Malicious?’

‘A pervert bullying newbies?’

All sorts of thoughts flooded her mind.

Moreover, it was unclear whether the NewTuber making the video was praising her or belittling her, as their intent seemed murky.

They danced on the edge, just barely not crossing the line yet still making digs at her. Watching that made her naturally angry.

But upon looking at the chat history on her own part of the NewTube video, Serin found herself speechless.

[Is this really worthy of admiration? That so many would be interested in it?]

[If you’re going to swing dual swords like that, just quit.]

[Seriously, swinging that great sword so poorly? Are those muscles just for show, as you can’t even find your center of gravity?]

[Is this really the level of everyone here?]

[No way, throwing daggers like that doesn’t add any power!]

She suddenly remembered just how much she had trolled in the chat.

‘Am I really a malicious user…?’

Without realizing it, she wondered if she truly was that malicious.

Her past self was certainly far from being a malicious user.

Back when she played Black Ark with a keyboard and mouse, she was called “an angel helping newbies,” “that guy helping newbies,” and “the guy who gets excited when he sees newbies.”

There were all sorts of strange comments, but ultimately she was seen as a player aiding newbies.

In fact, she had been someone who desperately tried to revive a game that was steadily failing.

Answering all kinds of questions from developers in the beginner zone with sincerity, and even lending out mounts she needed to use, a ‘horse,’ in the form of ‘rental’ to the newbies.

Before she knew it, she had stopped hunting or engaging in PvP and was simply residing in the newbie zone.

Though it felt like a last-ditch effort before the game collapsed, ultimately, she couldn’t stop that enormous tide.

There was a saying that some people would fall while others would rise. Wasn’t the game similar?

A game that was doomed would just be doomed.

She even thought it was her predetermined fate.

“…What do you think, Sua?”

Suddenly pulling her gaze away from the finished phone video, Serin blurted out that question.

“Y-Yes?”

“What do you think about the user Lin in this video?”

“Um…”

What was that? What was she talking about? Sua couldn’t grasp the essence.

That Serin’s words sounded so far removed from “She resembles me. This is me” left her in a daze, trying to sort her thoughts.

‘What do I think about user Lin…?’

Then, unexpectedly, without realizing it, she answered the first thought that came to her mind.

“He’s a total Gosu.”

“…A total Gosu?”

That response took Serin by surprise, making her repeat the question blankly.

“Yeah, I’ve seen videos that downplay the four airborne parries as mere luck, but that’s just complete ignorance.”

‘Ignorance?’

Er… does that mean someone who doesn’t know Another World?

“Yes, those who have genuinely tried parrying know. To say you can parry by luck? Sure, it’s possible. But consecutive parries, you can’t do that by luck. Anyone who has tried understands, right?”

“Ah… that’s right.”

Serin found herself exclaiming in admiration and looked back at Sua.

The lively college girl image of Sua seemed to overlap with her past self, who had been obsessed with gaming.

“Ah, then on the contrary, what do you think about user Lin, Serin? Seeing you show interest like that, you must know something about Another World.”

With a hint of hope, Sua asked, expecting an answer like “He’s me” or “He’s a friend I know.”

When the topic of Another World arose, Sua’s trembling had come to a stop.

With a relaxed mind, she realized that the words were flowing from her mouth.

However, she still felt a distance from Serin and hesitated to ask directly, “Are you Lin?”

In reaction to Sua’s demeanor, Serin, who was about to answer naturally, suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

“I…”

How did I think of myself?

That was something Serin had never heard before.

‘Me?’