Chapter 9: Prove it
[Fan Korea > Forest Board > Real-Time Popular Posts List]
[Newbie VTuber Wiping the Floor with Rainberg POV (75)]
[???????????? (35)]
[Rebug: I Don’t Accept This. Ria: Rainberg, You Weren’t That Good? (50)]
[Ria’s Best Lines from Today.txt (35)]
[Hwayeon: The Call Quality Was Noticeably Different. The Main Match Was Definitely Easier. (120)]
ㄴ[Forest Clip Master] (LV80) [Author]
…Tch, looks like Rebug’s really getting old.
Honestly, even if we chalk up his aim to daily condition, seeing how Ria called out teammate positions, there’s definitely a gap in call quality?
– Yeah, I watched from that VTuber’s POV, and her calls were cleaner than expected.
ㄴ Clean’s one thing, but her detailed calls were insane.
Rainberg was struggling just to do his part, but Ria? Felt like she was puppeteering the whole team.
– Aim wasn’t that different, just a brain gap.
That’s more crucial in team games, though…
ㄴ No aim gap? Lol, I watched from the enemy POV, and Ria’s aim was straight headshots.
ㄴ When you can down two or more with one mag, it opens up more call options.
The skill gap’s real.
– But how did we not know about a VTuber like this on Forest? Lol.
ㄴ For real, saw her for the first time yesterday, and her banter with Rebug was solid.
ㄴ Think we’ll see her in more internals?
ㄴ Yo, you fool, Rebug’s probably done with Killwatch now.
Killwatch is fun when it’s occasional.
Ria’s dawn slumber.
The Forest community was flooded with posts.
The Killwatch internal match, rare as it was, caused a massive ripple.
The stream? Packed with seasoned streamers who knew how to entertain, so it was naturally fun.
What mattered was the lineup and the flow!
A female virtual caught Rainberg’s eye by chance, joining as his balance opponent.
And that female virtual dominated the internal match.
Plus, not only was she great at the game, but her banter with Rainberg was solid.
– For real, lost track of time watching.
– Wow, one hour of sleep before work.
This normal?
From the main game to the blame-game fiesta.
Viewers stayed glued, maintaining high viewership till dawn.
For FPS fans, Rainberg’s personal fans, and Forest floaters, it was a fresh, fun spectacle.
And what do all streaming fans love most? A new girl’s breakout!
Sure, from Ria’s perspective, she was a veteran, but since most viewers saw her for the first time, she temporarily reclaimed the new-girl throne!
But there was one issue.
Less an issue, more a question born from Ria being too good.
– Isn’t she, like, too good at shooting for a VTuber?
The fact that VTuber Ria was insanely good with guns.
A question raised by one viewer-cum-community member.
And as if on cue, some haters jumped in.
– Yo, is that aim hack? She’s hitting heads too well.
– Killwatch is a headshot game, though.
– Watched the clip again, and something feels off.
– No wonder lol, Rebug losing to an ex-pro felt too weird.
– Wait, is it what I’m thinking?
They fell into two camps.
One, the usual community Napoleons, busy tearing others down instead of self-improving.
The other? Rainberg’s toxic fans, with banned IDs locked in his dungeon’s 13th floor.
– Common sense says no one shoots better than our bro.
– For real lol.
These guys deified Rainberg, unable to tolerate even a scratch on his image.
…Though their antics ended up tarnishing Rainberg more.
Anyway, the controversy surfaced, and they didn’t need proof.
Mere speculation was enough to shape public opinion and bury a small-time streamer.
[VTuber Ria Hack Usage Controversy Summary (1043)]
[Suspected Hack VTuber Aim Clip (350)]
[Lol, This Is Absurd. This Is Why Only Verified People Should Join Internals (120)]
(Author) Lol, told you it was sus.
Watched other replays, and her aim positioning is weird.
– For real, time-wasting Napoleons never miss lol.
– But figuring this out is kinda wild.
– ? Nothing’s confirmed yet, right? Stay neutral, or you’ll get sued.
ㄴ (Author) Neutral? Lol, you blind? Clip’s clear as day.
She’s done.
Poor Rebug’s team, getting funding sucked dry.
ㄴ Watched it all, and it’s kinda iffy?
– Wow, our bro got played again.
By some weirdo.
This is why VTubers need to show their face lol.
Just like that, the community, which had been praising Ria moments ago, turned into a witch-hunt mob.
The hack suspicion clip post broke 1,000 comments, getting locked due to fights.
– Hmm… is it that bad? I’m staying neutral.
– Aim aside, her detailed calls were pretty solid.
– Why use hacks?
Sure, some seasoned community members declared neutrality, but that was a drop in the bucket against the raging tide.
Unbeknownst to Ria, her name was mentioned thousands, tens of thousands of times in the community.
In the worst way possible.
The controversy showed no signs of dying down.
The key player was absent.
“Zzz…”
Ria was off in dreamland.
With her limited network, no one was there to relay the news.
The next day.
[Unread Messages: 52]
‘Huh… what’s this?’
Waking up, I checked my streaming platform notifications out of habit.
“Cough, cough!”
Seeing the pile of messages, I couldn’t help but freak out.
‘What’s going on?’
Sleep vanished instantly.
[Ria, please explain.]
[Wow, disgusting. Been using hacks and acting skilled?]
[Lol, no surprise. Shady, so you hide behind a VTuber mask?]
[Ria, is the hack thing real?]
[Wow, don’t live like that lol.]
“Huh?”
The messages were all bashing me.
Some even took shots at VTubers as a whole.
But what shocked me was something else entirely.
“Hacks?”
What’s that?
Is this some kind of praise?
Did I do that well in yesterday’s internal?
“Ahem.”
Ironically, I felt a bit proud.
I hadn’t fully grasped the situation, but skimming the messages, it didn’t seem like they’d caught my reincarnation or anything.
‘Guess something blew up.’
I quickly surfed the web to figure out what was going on.
And… I found out what the controversy was.
“Man, this is ridiculous!”
Hacks, my ss!
I’m pinching pennies for living expenses; where’s the money for hacks?
This was pure slander.
‘…But people already believe it.’
That thought triggered a déjà vu, a flash of a past moment.
“Uh…”
I’d once admitted to something I didn’t do, hadn’t I?
By my own choice.
Walked into hell willingly, didn’t I?
‘Nah, this is different.’
…Not sure how, but it was different.
Let’s not overthink it.
Anyway, I had to clear this up!
‘But how?’
How do I prove my innocence?
What if they’re already seeing me through tinted glasses?
‘Wait…’
The answer to that dilemma didn’t come, even as I dragged my tired body to my convenience store shift on autopilot.
Ding.
A phone notification.
My fan café gained new members.
But at this moment, they probably didn’t join with good intentions.
‘Gotta resolve this fast.’
The longer it drags, the worse my image gets.
‘…I know that, obviously.’
The problem is the method.
What do I do?
How do I make people believe me?
I was getting more anxious by the second.
It felt like I couldn’t see ahead.
– Step.
It’s like back then.
Like walking slowly, slowly into a dark tunnel.
Why am I heading there? No answer.
No way out, either.
And then.
Bzzz!
“Ah.”
A call came in.
Unknown number.
“Hello?”
[Hey, Ria. It’s Rainberg. Got a moment to talk?]
[Ria’s Stream Has Started.]
– What’s this?
– Ria’s live?
– Gross, so gross. Hack user’s here lol.
– Ex
– plain
– Ex
– plain
– Drop
– it
– Drop
– it
That night, amid the hack controversy, VTuber Ria’s stream went live.
Viewers drawn by the drama flooded in, and the chat, predictably, caught fire.
More like, they hopped on the bandwagon to hear her explanation.
Familiar black screen.
Mic still off, too.
– This pattern… feels familiar?
– Lol, classic ending?
– Yo, should I order popcorn?
Most viewers predicted the usual small-time controversy streamer arc: apology, hiatus, or quitting.
But the voice that followed shattered their expectations.
“Hey, everyone. Can you hear me? It’s Rainberg!”
– What? Why’s Rebug here?
– ?
– What’s going on?
– Huh?
Viewers were thrown off.
This wasn’t the scripted ending.
Then the black screen switched.
To a studio most viewers recognized—Rainberg’s.
“Alright, folks. There’s been some drama lately, right? Ria’s here to clear things up.”
VTuber Ria’s IRL verification!
This announcement flipped the community upside down again.
“Phew…”
Honestly, I’m kinda nervous.
This kind of proof stage is a first for me.
“Don’t stress, just play Killwatch. You won’t show on screen, so no worries.”
Right beside me was Rainberg, the big-league streamer.
He came right after I got his call, and considering my situation, he helped set up the stream immediately.
“Folks, obviously, Ria’s using my PC.”
Yeah.
To sum up my state, I’m a bit exhausted.
Barely slept, and I’ve been on edge all day.
Still…
‘A chance to clear my name like this? Where else would I get that?’
The stage is set for me.
And I’m the player on it.
“Hey, everyone. It’s VTuber Ria.”
Starting a stream always gives me this thrilling, walking-the-edge feeling.
Now’s one of those times, and ‘that time’ definitely was too.
Sure, I can’t always pick the right choice…
But a crisis is also an opportunity.
This time, absolutely this time.
I decided to face it head-on.