Streamer Crazy About Slaughter - Chapter 39

Awakening Skill.

Among the many classes existing in Another World, each had its own unique awakening skill.

With an incredibly long cooldown of a mere once every six hours.

Once, they had confirmed the existence of such a skill while watching the stream of a broadcaster named Hana, and now they were aware that they too possessed such an awakening ability.

“Jongyeon (Final Performance).”

This was the name of the awakening skill for the Dance Performer class.

Interpreted, it meant ‘the final play’.

An awakening skill fitting for the name of the Dance Performer class, and one that they had yet to use even once.

Considering the rule of best two out of three, they did not intend to use it even if they lost the first round.

They had planned to use it in the next round after thoroughly analyzing their opponent.

Along with the awakening skill, there was also mention of an emergency evasion.

As the name of the skill implied, it was an absolutely invincible evasion skill.

A truly unbelievable skill that could dodge any situation or attack.

Due to the unfair nature of this skill itself, in Another World, it was restricted to only being used once every 24 hours.

“Handicap…?”

Perhaps this user named Plea might be employing some sort of handicap against them, Serin ultimately wondered and ended up asking.

“Ah, Lin… you might think so because I intentionally held back.”

Plea, startled at what they said, opened their mouth in surprise.

“Since Lin seems to misunderstand, I’ll say this: I was saving the awakening skill for the next round. And the emergency evasion cooldown hasn’t finished yet… I wasn’t giving Lin any leeway or facing you with such leniency.”

“So that was it?”

As Plea explained the reasons, nodding while idly spinning the Crescent Moon Blade, they started feeling somewhat awkward.

They had shown unnecessary sharp reactions to her.

Thinking she might have given them an advantage.

Thus, they fidgeted with their Crescent Moon Blade, waiting for the 10-minute rest period to pass quickly.

Whooom.

The sound of the Crescent Moon Blade swirling through the air broke the silence of the Colosseum.

While considering what they could do, they felt tense and exhilarated, but it was in a good way.

They were far from feeling overwhelmed.

Because they didn’t fully understand the opponent’s techniques, they felt irritated at having to react after the opponent moved, but the same was true for the opponent.

The Crescent Moon Blade was still one of the less common weapons in Another World, and the opponents they had faced so far also didn’t seem to have any grasp of how to effectively counter their skills.

Then, struck by some thought, they moved their lips.

“…Since you mentioned that the emergency evasion is on cooldown, then I won’t use my emergency evasion skill either.”

“…”

“You don’t have to go that far…”

Plea, waving their hand as if feeling burdened, felt a strange emotion.

Somehow, it felt like they were the one receiving consideration now.

Though just a few minutes earlier, it was Plea who had suggested giving a handicap and offering convenience.

In just a few minutes, the situation had turned 180 degrees.

Especially since the moment their first round ended in their defeat, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that all their original intentions had shattered.

Moreover, a portion of their open chat window was in chaos.

The fact that a Challenger-tier user like Plea had lost to Lin.

This reality was continuously sparking heated discussions in the chat.

Starting from accusations of intentionally showing leniency, terms like ‘failure work’ were even being thrown around in the context of intentionally losing to promote this Lin user.

[Didn’t ‘Isrilda’ and Plea keep their winning streak yesterday?]

[Honestly, it seems too strange; these days streamers seem to be pushing Lin for some reason.]

[kekkekkekkekkekekkekkekkekkek The failure fans are at it again.]

[Don’t talk nonsense if you’ve just started watching Plea’s stream, dammit.]

[kekkekkekkekkekkekkekkekkekkekkek]

[Shouldn’t the manager ban these trolls stirring up trouble?]

[This chat is getting messy again kekkekkekkekkekkekkekkek]

[The audience numbers have surged, and it’s filled with all sorts of strangers.]

[Manager: After this, anyone labeling things as failure/cheat will be banned. Please keep the chat polite.]

“Anyone banned today will get an IP ban, so keep that in mind.”

While looking at the chat, Plea just coldly expressed this single statement.

They didn’t feel the need to say much more or prolong the situation unnecessarily.

Just thinking about Lin’s attack patterns and the acrobatic way they dodged attacks almost made their head explode.

[The overstep types must be tired.]

[If you get an IP ban watching Plea’s stream, aren’t you just watching out of habit? kekkekkekkek]

[There are no other top-tier players in the top 50 who broadcast besides Gossu and Plea, right? kekkekkekkek]

[kekkekkekkekkekkekkek This will end up in bans again. You fools.]

[It’ll be okay as long as it’s not me!!]

[So if no one chats, I win?]

[kekkekkekkekkekkekkekkekkekkekkekkekkek]

Amid the chaos of accusations of rigging and failure-making, Plea soon closed the chat window.

No matter how hard they tried to focus on the broadcast, it was no use.

Now, the only thought in their mind was the desire to win against this Lin user.

Plea, biting their lip, slowly stood up.

“It seems time is up.”

Gripping their rapier with strength, they turned their head.

Watching Lin calmly rising from behind an obstacle, Plea slowly composed their thoughts.

A user that seemed to have fallen from the sky.

A user who had quickly become famous through communities and NewTube after being featured in recommendation algorithms.

At first, they had thought it was nothing but a fuss.

Just another user with decent control who happened to get lucky.

Their conviction solidified when they clicked on a NewTube video that randomly appeared in the recommendation algorithm and saw the character’s appearance.

‘Ah, it’s because they’re pretty that they’ve become popular.’

But contrary to this initial thought, they were soon captivated by the video and focused on watching it.

And by the end, they realized that this was no ordinary lucky user.

The natural blocking, the effortless dodging movement, and the uncluttered attack stance.

“…Duel Request.”

By speaking through the voice recognition system, the duel request appeared to Lin.

Immediately, the ‘Accepted’ mark followed.

– The duel will begin shortly.

Thinking that not losing in an arena match was a kind of arrogance.

There were definitely people better than them, and they had encountered many talented individuals.

They first became immersed in gaming like this with Another World.

At first, losing in the arena was something they accepted naturally.

-3.

Even if they lost, it didn’t matter.

They found it enjoyable nonetheless.

And that resulted in countless defeats initially. When they did hundreds of arena matches while in what’s commonly called the ‘deep sea,’ or the Bronze tier, there came a moment when they suddenly felt they were getting the hang of it.

By catching this moment, they began consistently winning at the arena, and their tier started to rise steeply.

The concept of ‘enlightenment,’ which didn’t fit games, but they actually experienced something like it for the first time.

By the time they reached the Master tier, recognized by even the Another World players, they had already spent a year.

And their record, which was etched as 4,000 arena matches.

After that, every year when the tier was reset, they would climb back up from the lower tiers.

-2.

It was now three years since the release of Another World, and they had poured over 10,000 hours into it.

And thus, Plea was now called a top-tier player in the Challenger tier.

And now, they had started to dwell too much on losing.

They didn’t want to lose.

At the moment they lost to someone, they got fixated on defeating that user.

Unknowingly, they were that obsessed with Another World.

-1.

As the countdown ended signaling the start of the duel, Plea pushed off and raised their rapier.

The blade started to glow with a distinct golden light.

Seeing Plea’s movement, which was much different from the first round, Serin found it interesting and raised the Crescent Moon Blade.

Without using a disappearing skill, and approaching in a straightforward path, they slowly took a step back while gripping the chain of the crescent moon weapon with the other hand firmly.

Kkeeeek.

Holding the chain taut in one hand while gripping the other weapon in the other, they stood in a peculiar stance.

Regardless of the skill the Knight Class might use, it was fine.

Because prepared as they were, there was no attack they couldn’t block.

Ppah!

Looking at Serin in that stance, Plea, quickly rushing forward, thrust their golden-glowing rapier into the air.

A silent thrust, completely soundless.

In response, Serin released the chain they were holding tightly and swung their arm strongly.

Saaaak!

With a harsh tearing sound as if slicing through the air, the black Crescent Moon Blade imbued with bloody energy struck.

Ccheaaang!

The moment the rapier and the crescent moon weapon met, it seemed like a greeting, creating a grand resonance. Soon, the rapier and the crescent moon weapon began playing a fierce symphony.

Cchhheeeech!!

As the rapier painted golden trajectories and the bl**d-infused black crescent moon weapon repeatedly collided with it, the endless exchange of attacks and blocks continued.

There was no room for parrying in the countless exchanges; the two were continuously clashing with their weapons directed at each other.

-Pool of bl**d.

Suddenly, the black crescent moon weapon infused with bloody energy moved through the air at strange angles, creating countless bloody trajectories.

As if depicting numerous stars embellishing the night sky, the bloody crescent moon weapon illuminated the air, beginning to scatter a myriad of bloody dots.

Watching this, Plea, trembling her hand that held the rapier, unfolded her skill.

-A Single Line.

The golden line following the bloody trajectories continuously emerged and shattered the bl**d dots one by one.

As Plea was dismantling the skill Serin had deployed like this, she suddenly felt startled while observing Lin’s demeanor.

“…Are they smiling?”